
OFFICIAL DONATION. 



Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper No. 140 



Series 0, Underground Waters, 43 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, Director 



FIELD MEASUREMENTS 



OF 



THE RATE OF MOVEMENT OF 
UNDERGROUND WATERS 



BY 



CHARLES S. SLICHTER 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1905 



Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper No. 140 



Series 0, Underground Waters, 43 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, Director 



s33~ 



V~ 



FIELD MEASUREMENTS 



OF 



THE RATE OF MOVEMENT OF 
UNDERGROUND WATERS 



BY 



CHARLES S. SLIGHTER 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1 9 5 
2d. Set 






13 NOV 1905 
D.ofD, 



* • « ■ 



4 ' " • • • - 



« • 






\ 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Letter of transmittal 7 

Introduction 9 

Chapter I. The capacity of a sand to transmit water 10 

Factors influencing flow 10 

Transmission constant 10 

Chapter II. Underflow meter used in measuring velocity and direction of 

movement of underground water 16 

Types of apparatus 16 

Test wells 16 

Direct- reading instruments 19 

Recording instruments 25 

Chapter III. Laboratory experiments on the flow of water through sands and 

gravels 29 

Objects of the experiments 29 

Experiments in the horizontal tank 29 

Experiments in the vertical tank 41 

Accuracy of the electric method of determining the velocity of ground 

waters 49 

Chapter IV. Measurements of the underflow at the narrows of Rio Hondo and 

San Gabriel River, California 50 

Chapter V. Measurements of the underflow at the narrows of Mohave River 

near Victorville, Cal 55 

Conditions at the station 55 

Description of experiments 57 

Quality of water % 63 

Chapter VI. Measurements of the rate of the underflow on Long Island, 

New Yoik 65 

Conditions existing at the stations 65 

Influence of the rainfall upon the rate of motion of ground waters 69 

Seepage waters from ponds and reservoirs 72 

Influence of pumping upon the rate of motion of ground waters near some 

of, the Brooklyn driven-well stations 81 

Conclusion 85 

Chapter VII. Specific capacity of wells 86 

General principles 86 

Tests „ 91 

Test I 91* 

Seepage and evaporation 92 

Test II 92 

3 



4 0ONTBNT8. 

Page! 

Chapter VIII. The California "stovepipe" method of well construction for 

water Bupply 98 

Mode of construction 98 

Advantages of stovepipe construction 101 

I st of construction 101 

Well rigs 102 

Yield of wells 103 

Chapter 1 \. Tests of typical pumping plants 104 

Test oi pumping plant of Felix Martinez, near El Paso, Tex 104 

Pumping plants of J. A. Smith, near El Paso, Tex 106 

Tesl of Roualt's pumping plant, near Las Cruces, N. Mex... 109 

Test of lloraeo Ranch Company's well No. J, Berino, N. Mex Ill 

Summary of results of tests at pumping plants in valley of the Rio Grande, 

New Mexico and Texas 112 

Determination of vacuum 113 

Specific capacity 113 

Cost and operating expenses 114 

Fuel cost 114 

Comments on the Rio ( rrande pumping plants 117 

Index 121 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



/ Page. 
Plate L First underflow stations near Garden, Kans. : A, Station 1, near 

"Point of Rock;" B, Station 2, south of island 10 

IL Scale for graphic estimation of transmission constant of a sand 14 

III. A, Ram for driving wells; B, Pulling casing with railroad jacks 18 

IV. Electrode and perforated brass buckets used in charging wells 18 

V. A, Underflow meter; B, Commutator clock 20 

VL .4, Small well jetting rig; B, Recording instruments in field box. . . 26 

VII 1 ^ Charts made by recording ammeter 26 

VIII 1 .' Vertical tank used in laboratory experiments 42 

IX'MSTarrows of Mohave River, California 56 

XT Driving well at underflow station at narrows of Mohave River 58 

XL Driving test wells in the gorge of Mohave River 58 

XIL^, 12-inch "stovepipe" starter; B, Two lengths of stovepipe casing. 98 

XIII. A, Side view of California well rig; B, Front view 100 

XIV. A, Casing perforator; B, Rear view of well rig 102 

XV. California well rig and artesian well flowing 5,250,000 gallons per 

twenty-four hours 102 

Fig. 1. Pipe joint made with hydraulic coupling 17 

2. Plan of arrangement of test wells 18 

3. Diagram illustrating manner of w T orkingof electric underflow meter. 20 

4. Ampere curves at station 5, San Gabriel River, California 22 

5. Ampere curves at station 1, Long Island, New York 24 

6. Ampere curves at station 10, Garden, Kans 27 

7. Plan of horizontal tank 31 

8. Experiment 4, horizontal tank 33 

9. Experiment 6, horizontal tank 33 

10. Experiment 8, horizontal tank 34 

1 1 . Experiment 9, horizontal tank 34 

12. Experiment 10, horizontal tank 35 

13. Experiment 11, horizontal tank 36 

14. Experiment 1 2, horizontal tank 37 

15. Experiment 13, horizontal tank 38 

16. Experiment 14, horizontal tank 38 

17. Experiment 15, horizontal tank 39 

18. Experiment 16, horizontal tank 39 

19. Experiment 1 7, horizontal tank 40 

20. Experiment 18, horizontal tank 40 

21. Vertical tank 43 

22. Experiment No. 1 in vertical tank; contours for 12.10 p. m 43 

23. Experiment No. 1 in vertical tank; contours for 12.40 p. m 44 

24. Experiment No. 1 in vertical tank; contours for 1.40 p. m 44 

25. Experiment No. 1 in vertical tank: contours for 2.40 p. in 45 

26. Experiment No. 1 in vertical tank; contours for 3.40 p. in 45 

5 



(') ILLUSTBATI0N8. 

Page. 

Fio. 27. Experiment No. 1 in vertical tank: contours for 4.40 p. m 46 

28. Experiment No. 2 in vertical tank; contours for 2.55 p. m 46 

29. Experiment No. 2 in vertical tank; contours for 7.25 p. m 47 

30. Variation in rate of flow of ground water with variation in head 4S 

31. Ampere curves at station- Nos. 1 and L'. Rio Hondo, California 52 

:V2. Ampere curve at station No. 3, San Gabriel River, California 54 

33. Map of gorge of Mohave River. Victorville, Cal 56 

34. Cross Bection of gorge of Mohave River, Victorville, Cal 57 

."»•">. Plan of underflow station, gorge of Mohave River 57 

.".ti. Ampere curve at station A, Mohave River 58 

37. Ampere curve at station E, Mohave River, for depth of 8 feet 58 

38. Ampere curve at station E, Mohave River, for depth of 14 feet 59 

39. Ampere curve at stati« »n E, Mohave River, for depth of 20 feet 60 

40. Ampere curve at station G, Mohave River, for depth of 25 feet 61 

41. Ampere curve at station G, Mohave River, for depth of 30 feet 62 

42. Ampere curve at station I, Mohave River, for depth of 24 feet 62 

43. Ampere curve at station 2 X, Long Island 68 

44. Ampere curves at station 5, Long Island 70 

45. Ampere curve at station 6, Long Island 71 

46. Ampere curve at station 7, Long Island 72 

47. Ampere curve at station 8, Long Island 73 

48. Ampere curve at station 10, Long Island 74 

49. Ampere curve at station 12, Long Island 75 

50. Ampere curve at station 14, Long Island 76 

51. Ampere curve at station 15, Long Island 76 

52. Ampere curve at station 15 X, Long Island 77 

53. Ampere curve at station 13, Long Island 78 

54. Ampere curve at station 16 X, Long Island 79 

55. Ampere curve at station 17, Long Island 80 

56. Ampere curve at station 21, Long Island 81 

•~i7. Map showing underflow stations, Long Island 82 

58. Map showing stations 5 and 6, Long Island 83 

59. Map showing stations 2, 13, 16, 17, and Wantagh Pond, Long Island. 84 

60. Apparatus for measuring rate of rise of water in wells 90 

61 . Curves of rise of water in wells 94 

62. Roller perforator for stovepipe wells 100 

63. Plan and elevation of California well-rig derrick 102 

64. Conditions at pumping plant of Felix Martinez, near El Paso, Tex .. 105 

65. Conditions at pumping plant of J. A. Smith, near El Paso, Tex 107 

66. Conditions at pumping plant of Theodore Roualt, near Las Cruo 

X. Mex 110 

67. Conditions at Horaco Ranch Company's well Xo. 1, at Berino, X. 

Mex Ill 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



Department of the Interior, 
United States Geological Survey, 

Hydrographic Branch, 
Washington, D. C, August 10, 1901},. 

Sir: I transmit herewith, for publication, a manuscript entitled 
"Field Measurements of the Rate of Movement of Underground 
Waters," prepared by Prof. Charles S. Slichter, professor of mathe- 
matics, University of Wisconsin. 

The paper presents an amplified exposition of the method of measur- 
ing the movement of underground waters wHich was devised by Pro- 
fessor Slichter in 1901 while working for the hydrographic branch of 
the United States Geological Survey and which has been already 
briefly described in Water-Supply Paper No. 67, 1902. Descriptions of 
the apparatus invented by him for the laboratory study of wells con- 
trolling horizontal and vertical movements of underground waters and 
the results of these studies are also presented. The laboratory studies 
are also supplemented by detailed accounts of several investigations 
made in the field. 

This paper should be interesting and valuable to engineers and geolo- 
gists, and the direct application of the results to the study of problems 
of vital interest to the users of artesian waters should be of great 
practical value to the general public. A very suggestive and interest- 
ing description of the California method of sinking " stovepipe" wells 
deserves the attention of drillers in unconsolidated deposits through- 
out our country, while the description of the carefully made tests on 
typical pumping plants in Texas and New Mexico should appeal to 
engineers and others who are interested in the problem of raising 
water for irrigation or other purposes. 
Very respectfully, 

F. H. Newell, 

Chief Engineer. 
Hon. Charles D. Walcott, 

Director United States Geological Survey. 

7 



FIELD MEASUREMENTS OF THE RATE OF MOVEMENT 
OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. 



By Charles S. Slighter. 



INTRODUCTION. 

The following paper describes the method and apparatus used in 
measuring the velocity of underground waters and gives the results of 
field work done with the apparatus in various parts of the United 
States, under authority of the hydrographic branch of the United 
States Geological Survey. The method used in making the measure- 
ments was devised by the writer after preliminary tests along the 
Arkansas River in western Kansas during the summer of 1901. This 
preliminary work indicated that it was practicable to measure the rate 
of flow of ground waters by the use of very simple apparatus. Several 
determinations of the rate of movement of the underflow of the 
Arkansas were made during that summer. These measurements, it is 
believed, constituted the first direct determinations of the rate of flow 
of ground water that had been made in this country. This preliminary 
work was done in the neighborhood of Dodge, Kans., and at one or 
two points near Garden, Kans. The photographs reproduced in PL I 
show the locations of the first successful stations, which were estab- 
lished near Garden, Kans. A brief description of the electrical 
method of measuring the velocities of underground waters resulting 
from this preliminary investigation was printed in the Engineering- 
News of February 20, 1902, and in paper No. 67 of the Water-Supply 
and Irrigation series of the United States Geological Survey. Since 
then, as the result of work carried on in the field and in the laboratory, 
the apparatus has been gradually improved, and its present form is 
described in these pages. 

The paper will also include some determinations of the manner and 
rate of flow of water into tubular wells, and descriptions of methods 
and simple apparatus designed to accurately estimate the capacity of 
such wells. 

9 



CHAPTER I. 

Ill i : CAPACITY OF A SAM) TO TRANSMIT WATER. 

FACTORS INFLUENCING FLOW. 

The general laws governing the flow of water through a mass of 
Band or erravel have been described by the writer in another paper." 
and will not be repeated in this place. It i- sufficient to state that 
experiments show that the flow of water in a giveo direction through 
a column of -and is proportional to the difference in pressure at the 
end- of the column, and inversely proportional to the length of the 
column, and i- also dependent upon another factor, called the trans- 
mission constant of the sand. 

TRANSMISSION CONSTANT. 

The resistance offered by sand or gravel to the flow of water which 
is percolating through it is very great. The water is obliged to pass 
through very small pores, usually capillary in character; indeed, they 
are much smaller in cross section than the soil particles between which 
they pass. If the particles of sand or gravel which make up the water- 
bearing medium are well rounded in form the pores are somewhat 
triangular in cross section and the diameter of the individual pores 
i- only one-fourth to one-seventh the diameter of the soil particles 
themselves. Thus if the individual grains of sand average 1 milli- 
meter in diameter the pores through which the water mast pass will 
average only one-fourth to one-seventh of a millimeter in diame- 
ter. If to a mass of nearly uniform sand particles larger particles be 
added the effect on the resistance to the flow of water will be one of 
two kind-, depending principally upon the ratio which the size of the 
particles added bears to the average size of grains in the original sand. 
If the particles added are only slightly larger than the original sand 
grains, the effect i- to increase the capacity of the sand to transmit 
water, and the more particles of this kind that are added the greater 
will be the increase in the capacity of the -and to transmit water. If, 
however, large particle- are added, the effect is the reverse. If par- 
ticle- seven to ten time- the diameter of the original sand grains be 
added, each of the new particles tend- to block the course of the 

, be motions .if underground waters: Water-Sap. and Irr. Paper No. <;:. l". 3. Geol. Survey. IW2. 
1U 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 140 PL. 











LOCATION OF FIRST UNDERFLOW STATIONS. AUGUST, 1901, NEAR GARDEN, KANS. 
A, Station 1 , near Point of Rock , ]>, Station 2, south of island. 



slichter.] TKANSMISSION CONSTANT. 11 

water. Thus, for example, a large bowlder placed in a mass of fine 
sand will tend to block the passage of the water. As more and more 
of the large particles are added to a mass of uniform sand, the rate of 
flow of water through it will be decreased until the amount of the 
large particles equals about 30 per cent of the total mass. From this 
time on the adding of the large particles will increase the capacity of 
the whole to transmit water until, if a very large quantity of the large 
particles be added, so that the original mass of fine particles becomes 
relatively negligible, the capacity to transmit will approach that of the 
mass of the large particles alone. These facts have an important bear- 
ing upon the capacity of gravels to furnish water to wells or to trans- 
mit water in the underflow of a river. The presence of large particles 
is not necessarily to be interpreted as indicating a high transmission 
capacity of the material, for this is indicated only when the large par- 
ticles constitute a large fractional per cent of the total mass, as would 
be the case where the large particles, equal 40 or 50 per cent of the 
whole. 

The capacity of any sand or gravel to transmit water can be expressed 
by means of a single number which is called the transmission constant of 
the soil. This constant is defined to be the amount of water transmitted 
in unit time through a cylinder of the soil of unit length and unit 
cross section under unit difference in head at the ends. For example, 
if the foot and minute be the units of length and time, and if a column 
of sand 1 square foot in cross section and 1 foot in length will trans- 
mit 1 cubic foot of water a minute under a difference in head of 1 foot 
of water, the transmission constant is 1. The transmission constant of 
a soil varies very greatly with the size of the individual grains con- 
stituting the sand or gravel, and also depends in a marked degree 
upon the porosity or amount of open space in the soil. Table I, here- 
with, gives the transmission constants for a variety of sizes of soil 
grain and for a series of porosities varying from 30 to 40 per cent. 
This table is computed for a temperature of the water of 60° F. An 
auxiliary table, Table II, is one from which the transmission constants 
corresponding to other temperatures can readily be found. 

Transmission constant Jc is the quantity of water, measured in cubic 
feet, that is transmitted in one minute through a cylinder of the soil 
1 foot in length and 1 square foot in cross section, under difference 
in head at the ends of 1 foot of water. 

The tabulated numbers express the transmission constant in cubic 
feet per minute. 



12 



KATK OF MOVEMENT OF DNDERGBOUHD WATEBS. • "0- 



Tabu I. — T 'i° m 

Table computed for temperature :np>eratures can be found by the 

Tab. 



Diame- 






- 








- 














Kind of soil. 


grain 
in mm. 


30 per 


32 per 


34 per 
0.000050 


em. 


ent. 


40 per cent. 

I 




0.01 


0. 00 




0.000060 


- - 


0.000085 j 




.02 
.03 


.000131 
• . 0002 


.001 - 

. 00 


. 00< - 
4460 


.0002 
.0005 I 


. oo _ a 

.00 


.000339 
.0007 


Silt. 


.04 


.000527 


.00 


.00 " 


.00 58 


.001145 


. 001 




5 


.000822 


.001012 


.240 


. 001495 


. 001 7 


.00212 




.06 


L182 

1610 


. 00 
.001 - 


7S4 
.002 


_ 1 
.002 


258 

.00: 


.003050 
.004155 


fine 
- ad. 


- 


.00l 


.002? 


.00 " 


.oo. _ 


4585 


. 005425 




.09 


2 


28 


.004018 




.0058 


.006860 




.10 


282 




.004960 


s - 


" t 


MS 




.12 


. 00- 


"■- 


.007130 


.008 - 


.OK - 


122 




.14 


. 0C" 


.007 - 


.00972 


.01172 


.01404 


".OH - 




.15 


. 007390 


.009 - 


.01115 


.01: :■- - 


. 01611 


. 01910 


-and. 


.16 


.008 


.OK 


.on a 


.01531 


a [ 


. _ " 




a 


.01064 


.01311 


i 


.01 


_ - 


2745 




_ 


.01315 


.OH - 


.0198 


2390 


28 I 


390 




_" 


2050 


-" 


.031 


740 


448 


": 




.30 


2960 


- 


44 


S380 


.0645 


' 




35 


i -' 


.(4960 


.06 


'330 


.08790 


•39 


Med ium 
Bind. 


.40 


.Ob.' 


.0648 


:v40 


.09571 


. 1145 


.1355 




.45 


. 061 


-200 


.1( I 


.1211 


.1450 


.1718 


1 




822 


. 1012 


. 1240 


. 1495 


.1780 


.21: 


• 




.09940 


. 1225 


.1500 


.1S10 


.2. I 


_" I 




60 


.1182 


. 14£ - 


.1781 


.21" 


2580 


.3050 




I 


.1390 


.1710 


_ " 


-.30 


.3030 


"- 




" 


.1610 


.198 


.24 


.2930 


510 


.415S 


■ r 8 e 


n 


~- 


__"- 


,278£ 


.3365 


. 40 


.477 


sand. 


.80 


.21 " 


2590 


71 


-I" 


.4585 


. 5425 




.85 


_ "" 


_ -' 


18 


.4: ■_- 


. 5175 


.6125 




.90 


_ -60 


28 


.4018 


1845 


-00 


.6860 




I 


- -65 


" 


.447 


5400 


^60 


7650 


- 


1.00 


.3282 


. 4' 6 


.4960 


" 980 


.717 


-4S0 


■ 


2.00 


1. 315 

2.960 


1.62 

- 


1.983 
4.460 


_ :90 

- a 




390 
30 


Fine grav- 
el. 


4.00 


_'70 




7.940 


_ " 


11.45 


" 




5.00 


8.22 


10. 12 


12.40 


14.96 


17.90 


21 . 20 





SI.ICHTER.] 



TRANSMISSION CONSTANT. 



13 



Table II. — Variation, with the temperature, of ike flow of waier of various temperatures 
through a sand, 60° F. being taken as the standard temperature. 



Temperature. 


Relative 
flow. " 


Temperature. 


Relative 

flow, a 


°F. 


Prr cent. 


°F. 


Per cent. 


32 


0.64 


70 


1.15 


35 


.67 


75 


1.23 


40 


.73 


BO 


1.30 


45 


.80 


B5 


1.39 


50 


.86 


90 


1.47 


55 


.93 


95 


1. 55 


60 


1.00 


100 


1.64 


65 


1.08 







a "Relative flow'" means Hovr at given temperature compared with flow at 60° F. It is expressed 
as a percentage. 

It should be borne well in mind that the rate of transmission varies 
very greatly with the temperature of the water. For example, a 
change from 50 c to 60 : increases the capacity to transmit water under 
identical conditions by about 16 per cent, while a change from the 
freezing temperature to a temperature of 75- will nearly double the 
power of a soil to transmit water. This difference, of course, is not 
due to any change in the soil itself, but is due solely to the increased 
ease with which water Hows at high temperatures compared to the ease 
with which it flows at low temperatures. The transmission constant of 
a ^and can also be obtained by use of the diagram oriven iu PI. II. 
Graduated vertical lines will be found in this diagram corresponding 
to the diameter of the soil grains <V7). the amount of water trans- 
mitted (</). the hydraulic gradient (.y). and the porosity of the soil (m). 
The graduated line marked Pis an auxiliary scale. The number d is 
expressed in millimeters, and ^ is expressed in cubic feet per miuute. 
The hydraulic gradient s is expressed as a percentage. A slope of the 
ground water equal to 2 feet in 100 feet appears in the diagram as 
hydraulic gradient 0.02 and a slope of 528 feet per mile appears as 
0.10. The porosity. ///. also appears in the diagram as a percentage. 
The porosity or amount of voids in a sand will usually lie between '25 
and 1»") per cent of the total volume. 

The diagram is used as follows; Suppose that the amount of water 
transmitted by a sand per square foot of cross section is desired, if the 
effective size of soil grain is 0.55 millimeter, the hydraulic gradient 
2 feet in 100 feet, and the porosity is 36 per cent. Apply a ruler or 
straight edge (the edge of a piece of letter paper will do) to the dia- 
gram, passing through the mark 0.55 on d and the mark 0.02 on 8. 
The edge of the ruler will locate a point 0.17 on l\ the exact location 



14 BATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 14a 

of which should be noted. Then move the ruler bo that it will pass 
through this same point on U and through the mark 3t> on m. The 
place where the ruler crosses the line q (0.0036), will give the discharge 
in cubic feet per minute. The diagram gives results based upon the 
assumed temperature of the water of 60 F." 

If any three of the four magnitudes <L >/. », m are known, the 
remaining one can be found in a manner similar to the above. 

The removal of larger particles from a mixed sand may not only 
increase the transmission constant in the manner described above, but 
such removal may also increase the transmission capacity by permit- 
ting the remaining sand to pack in a more open manner, as would be 
shown by an increased porosity. Tables II and III give results which 
show that the removal of the larger grains from a sand does not nec- 
essarily decrease the transmission constant, but may even increase it. 
The results given in Table III were obtained by successively removing 
the larger particles from a mass of sand by means of standard sieves, 
and then determining the porosity, effective size, 6 and transmission 
constant for the finer material passing through the successive sieves. 
The gravel represented by Table III consisted of a mixture of all sizes 
of grains, from very fine grains to bowlders 2 feet in diameter. All 
pieces larger than 1 inch in diameter were discarded before the results 
shown in Table III were obtained. .It is interesting to note that the 
93.4 per cent of the total sand passing through sieve 2 (2 meshes to 
the inch) did not have as large an effective size as the 74.2 per cent 
which passed through sieve 20 (20 meshes to the inch). 

Table III is derived from a beach sand. The 54.3 per cent of this 
sand which passed through sieve 10 has a smaller transmission constant 
than the 36. S per cent which passed through sieve 14. 

The following table shows the effect of removing, by means of 
standard sieves, the coarser portions of a natural Arizona gravel. 
The data in columns 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 apply to that portion of original 
sample that passed the sieve named in column 1. 

a The diagram was computed and drawn for the writer by J. D. Suter, of the University of Wisconsin. 

f'The effective size of a sample of sand is such a number that if all grains were of that diameter 
the sand would have the same transmission capacity that it actually has. It is, therefore, the true 
mean or average size of sand grain in that sample. 



U. 8. GEOLO 



DIAMETER ( 

Miilirrv: 

"5 

-4 



— .* 

— .3 



-.1 
-.0! 
-.0 
-.0 
-.01 



SCALE OR NOMOGRAPH FOR ESTIMATING GRAPHICALLY THE TRANSMISSION CONSTANT OF A SAND OR GRAVEL. 



SLIGHTER. 



TRANSMISSION CONSTANT. 
Table III. — Effect of removing coarser portions of field gravel. 



15 



1. 


2. 


3. 


4. 


5. 


6. 


No. of sieve. 


Quantity of 
gravel 
passing. 


Differences 
of numbers 
in column 2. 


Porosity of 
portion 
passing. 


Effective 
size. 


Transmis- 
sion con- " 
stantat80°F. 


Meshes to 
inch. 


Per cent of to- 
tal weight. 


Per cent of to- 
tal weight. 


Per cent. 


Mm. 


Cubic feet per 
minute. 


2 


93.4 


6.6 


38.1 


0.325 


0. 102 


8 
10 


No data. 
83.7 




40.0 
38.6 


.320 

.282 


.120 
.080 


9.7 


12 


82.6 


1.1 


40.3 


.304 


.108 


14 


80.3 


2.3 


39.5 


.282 


.086 


16 


78.0 


2.3 


39.7 


.282 


.088 


18 


76.4 


1.6 


39.6 


.277 


.085 


20 


74.2 


2.2 


40.6 


.317 


.119 


30 


55.9 


8.3 


41.0 


.250 


.076 


40 


32.2 


23.7 


40.6 


.187 


.042 



The following table shows the effect of removing by means of stand- 
ard sieves the coarser portions of a natural beach gravel. The data in 
columns 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 apply to that portion of original sample that 
passed sieve named in column 1. 

Table IV. — Effect of removing coarser portions of a beach gravel. 



No. of sieve. 



Meshes to 
inch. 

Total 
sample. 

10 

12 

14 

16 

18 

20- 



Quantity of 

gravel 

passing. 



Per cent of to- 
tal weight. 



100.0 
54.3 
47.6 
36.8 
31.4 
No data. 
25.6 



Differences 
of numbers 
in column 2. 



Percent of to- 
tal weight. 



45.7 
6.7 

10.8 
5.4 



5.8 



Porosity of 
portion 
passing. 



Per cent. 

37.8 
40.0 
41.7 
41.7 
42.6 
43.5 
43.5 



Effective 
size. 



Mm. 

0.810 
.634 
.640 
.603 
.539 
.520 
.494 



Transmis- 
sion con- 
stant at 72°F. 



Cubic feet per 
minute. 



0.529 
.390 
.457 
.406 
.348 
.348 
.314 



CHAPTER II. 

r\DEKFLOW METER USED IN MEASURING VELOCITY AND 
DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

TYPES OF APPARATUS. 

The apparatus used is of two types: (1) Direct reading, or hand 
apparatus, requiring- the personal presence of the operator every hour 
for reading of instruments, and (2) recording apparatus, which 
requires attention but once in a day. Both forms are described in thi>> 
chapter. The arrangement of the test wells and manner of wiring 
the wells is essentially the same for both. 

TEST WELLS. 

The test wells suitable for use with the underflow meter in deter-, 
mining the velocity of ground waters may be common 1^-inch or 2-inch 
drive wells if the soil is easily penetrated and if the depths to be 
reached do not exceed 50 to 75 feet. For greater depths and harder 
soil wells of heavy construction should be used. The 1^-inch drive 
wells are much preferable to the li-inch wells because of the fact 
that l^-inch pipe is lap welded, while the li-inch is butt welded, 
and less capable of standing severe pounding. The drive point used 
with the well may be 1^-inch standard brass jacket well points, 42 to 
48 inches long, with No. 60 brass gauze strainer. The well points 
should be threaded with 1£ inches of standard thread, somewhat more 
than is usually found on the trade goods. The pipe should be full 
weight strictly wrought-iron standard pipe, cut in lengths of 6 or 7 
feet, and threaded li inches at each end. The couplings should be 
wrought-iron hydraulic recessed couplings, and the thread on the pipe 
should be cut in such a way that when properly screwed up the ends 
of the pipe will abut. The recessed couplings protect the pipe at its 
weakest point, while an ordinary coupling will leave exposed a thread 
or two of the pipe so that severe driving is liable to swell and ulti- 
mately rupture the pipe just above the coupling. Fig. 1 represents a 
hydraulic coupling, showing a properly made joint. 

The driving head should be made of rolled steel shafting and should 
be about 4 inches long, carrying 1^-inches standard thread and an air 
hole to permit the free escape of air from the well while the driving 
16 



SLICHTER.] 



TEST WELLS. 



17 



is in progress. A driving ram for putting clown the drive wells 
should be about 5+ feet long by 5i inches in diameter, made of heavy 
oak or other tough wood, with iron bands shrunk on the ends, and 
bearing two handles of hard wood at each end in order to facilitate 
the handling of the ram by two men. It is convenient to have these 
handles placed one about 1 foot from one end, and the other about 2 
feet from the other end. By reversing the ram the handles are 
brought in a more convenient position for driving as the well goes 
down. 

PI. Ill, ^i illustrates the method of putting down drive points. If 
the test wells are to be sunk to a depth exceeding that to which drive 
points can be readily driven, open-end 2-inch pipe should be used. 
These wells should be made with full weight strictly wrought-iron 
2-inch pipe with long threads and recessed hydraulic couplings, as 
described above. The pipe can either be put down without a screen, 
in which case a 1^-inch well point with turned coupling may be inserted 
through a drive shoe at the bottom of the casing after the pipe is 




Fig. 1.— Pipe joint made with hydraulic coupling. This joint will stand hard driving. 

driven into place, or an open-end brass jacket well point, 48 inches 
long, may be put down with the pipe. The pipe should be driven into 
place with a cast-iron ram varying in weight from 150 to 250 pounds, 
simultaneously hydraulicking a passage for pipe with water jet in 
three-fourths-inch wash pipe. There are many hand rigs on the market 
suitable for this work, or a rig can be readily constructed by any good 
mechanic. Such a rig is shown in PI. VI, A. A suitable pump for 
the hydraulic jet is a double-acting horizontal force pump with a 
1- by li-inch cylinder. If the material in which the well is to be 
drilled is not too hard nor too full of bowlders, the writer recommends 
that an open-end well point be put down with the casing. This is 
apt to cause some difficulty in the proper working of the lvydraulic 
jet. by the escape of water through the screen of the well point. This 
difficulty can be obviated and a more powerful wash secured by admit- 
ting a considerable quantity of air along with the water at the suction 
end of the force pump. The exact amount of air to be admitted can 
irr 140—05 2 



18 



RATE OF MOVEMENT OF r\l)KK(iHOUND WATERS. [no. 140. 



be readily determined with a little experience. The effect of the air 
entering the well under high pressure is to form a powerful airlift 
which will throw the water and gravel out of the top of the well easing 
with great force. It has been the writer's experience that the best 
hydraulic samples are obtained with the combination hydraulic pneu- 
matic jet. If tin 4 hydraulic jet alone is used the coarser particles have 
a tendency to remain at the bottom of the well. 

After a test is completed the well casino- can readily he pulled by a 
No. 2 cast-iron pipe puller and two 5-ton railroad jacks. Sets of dies for 
the pipe puller to fit both H- and 2-inch pipe can be obtained at small 
cost. PI. Ill, B, shows the operation of the pipe puller and railroad 
jacks. 




Fig. 2.— Plan of arrangement of test wells used in determining the velocity and direction of motion 
of ground water: A, B, C. D are the test wells. The direction A-C is the direction of probable motion 
of the ground water. The dimensions given in plan a are suitable for depths up to about 25 or 30 
feet, those in plan b for depths up to about 75 feet. For greater depths the distances A-B, A-C, 
A-D should be increased to 9 or 10 feet, and the distances B-C and C-D to 4 feet. The well A is the 
"salt well" or well into which the electrolyte is placed. 

The test wells are driven in groups, as shown in fig. 2, each group 
of wells constituting a single station for the measurement of the direc- 
tion and rate of flow of the ground water. In case the wells are not 
driven deeper than 25 feet, the " upstream" or " salt well" A is located, 
and three other wells, B, C, and D, are driven at a distance of 4 feet 
from A, the distance between B and C and C and D being about 2 
feet. The well C is located so that the line from A to C will coincide 
with the probable direction of the expected ground-water movement. 
This direction should coincide, of course, with the local slope of the 
water plane, and if this is not accurately known, it should be deter- 
mined by means of leveling with a level. For deeper work the wells 
should be located farther apart, as shown in the right portion of 
fig. 2. For depths exceeding 75 feet, a radius of 8 or 9 feet and 
chords of 4 feet should be used, the general requirement being that 
the wells should be as close together as possible, so as to cut down to 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 140 PL. Ill 




A. RAM USED FOR DRIVING SMALL WELLS BY HAND. 




B. PULLING WELL CASING WITH RAILROAD JACK AND NO. 2 PIPE PULLER. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEV 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 140 PL. IV 




ELECTRODE AND PERFORATED BRASS BUCKETS USED IN CHARGING 

WELLS. 



slighter.] DIRECT-READING INSTRUMENTS. 19 

a minimum the time required for a single measurement, but not so 
close that important errors are Liable to be introduced by the inability 
to drive the wells perfectly straight and plumb. On this account the 
deeper the wells the farther apart they should be placed. The angles 
B A C and C A D should not exceed 30 . 

DIRECT-READI NO I NSTK I M ENT8. 

Electrical connection is made with the casing of each test well by 
means of a drilled coupling carrying a binding post. Each of the 
downstream wells (B, C, D) contains within the well point or screen 
section an electrode consisting of a nickeled brass rod three-eight hs 
inch in diameter by 4 feet long, insulated from the casing by wooden 
spools. The end of rod receives a No. 11 rubber-covered wire, to 
which good contact is made by a chuck clutch. An electrode is shown 
in PI. IV. This electrode communicates with the surface by means of 
a rubber-covered copper wire. PI. IV also shows two buckets of per- 
forated brass used in charging wells with granulated sal ammoniac: 
each is If by 30 inches. 

Fig. 3 illustrates the arrangement of electric circuits between the 
upstream well and one of the downstream wells. Each of the down- 
stream wells is connected to the upstream well in the manner shown 
in this figure. 

A view of the direct-reading underflow meter is shown in PI. V, A. 
Six standard dry cells are contained in the bottom of the box, their 
poles being connected to the six switches shown at the rear of the 
case. By means of these switches any number of tin 1 six cells may 
be thrown into the circuit in series. One side of the circuit termi- 
nates in eight press keys, shown at the left end of the box. The 
other side of the circuit passes through an ammeter, shown in the 
center of the box, to two three-way switches at right end of the box. 
Four of the binding posts at the left end of the box are connected. 
respectively, to the casing of well A, and to the three electrodes of 
wells B, C, and D, in the order named. The binding posts at the 
right end of the box are connected to the casings of wells B, ( J, and I). 
There are enough binding posts to connect two different groups of 
wells to the same instrument. When the three-way switch occupies 
Hie position shown in the photograph, pressing the first key at left end 
of the box will cause tin 1 ammeter to show the amount of current 
massing between casing of well A and casing of well B. When the 
next key is pressed the ammeter will indicate 1 the current between the 
casino- of well Band the electrode contained within it. In one instance 
the current is conducted between the two well casings by means of 
the ground water in the soil; in the second case the electric circuit i- 
completed by means of the water within well B. By putting the 
three-way switch in second position and pressing the first and third 



20 



BATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDEBGROUND WATERS. [no. ho. 



keys iii turn, similar readings can be had for current between casings 
A ami C and between casing C and its internal electrode. Similarly 
with switch in third position, readings are taken by pressing first and 
fourth keys. The results may be entered in a notebook, as shown in 
Table V. 

B A C 




Fig. 3.— Diagram illustrating electrical method of determining the velocity of flow of ground water. 
The ground water is supposed to be moving in the direction of the arrow. The upstream well is 
charged with an electrolyte. The gradual motion of the ground water toward the lower well and 
its final arrival at that well are registered by the ammeter A B is the battery and C a commutator 
clock which is used when A is a recording ammeter. 

The principles involved in the working of the apparatus are very 
simple. The upstream well A is charged with a strong electrolyte, 
such as sal ammoniac, which passes down stream with the moving 
ground water, rendering the ground water a good electrolytic con- 
ductor of electricity. If the ground water moves in the direction of 
one of the lower wells, B, C, D, etc., the electric current between 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 140 PL. V 




UNDERFLOW METER, SHOWING CONNECTIONS WHEN USED AS 
DIRECT-READING APPARATUS. 

When used with recording ammeter, only two connections are made, one to each 
side of battery circuit; but the ammeier is left in circuit with the recording in- 
strument to indicate whether tne latter is working properly. 




B COMMUTATOR CLOCK, FOR USE WITH RECORDING AMMETER. 
The clock makes electrical contact at any five-minute interval. 



SLIGHTER.] 



DIRECT-READING INSTRTM KXTS. 



21 



A and B, A and C, or A and D will gradually rise, mounting rapidly 
when the electrolyte begins to touch one of the lower wells. When 
the electrolyte finally roaches and enters inside of one of the wells B, 
C, D, it forms a short circuit between the casing of the well and the 
internal electrode, causing an abrupt rise in the electric current. The 
result can be easily understood b} T consulting Table V and tig. 4. in 
which the current is depicted graphically. 

Table Y . — Field 'record of electric cur rent during underflow measurements at station 5, Rio 
Hondo and San Gabriel River, California, August 6 and 6, 1902. 

[Readings in amperes and decimals of an ampere.] 



Time. 



8 a. m 

8.15 a.m.. 
8.30a. in.. 

9 a. m 

10 a. in 

11.40a. m. 

1 p. in 

2 p. m 

3 p. m 

4 p. m 

5 p. m 

6 p. m 

7 p. m 

8 p. m 

9 p. m 

10.30 p. m 
12 p.m... 
1 a. m 6 . . . 
2.30a. in.. 
4.15 a. in. . 
5.30a. in.. 
7.45 a.m.. 
8.15 a. in. . 
9 a. m 



Well B. 



Well C. 



Well I). 



Casing. 



0.140 
Salt. 
.160 
.168 
. 180 
. 102 
.202 
.205 
.208 
.210 
.218 
.225 
.230 
.240 
.250 
.275 
.350 
.420 
. 510 
.560 
.550 
.520 



Elec- 
trode. 



Casing. 



0. 360 



.360 

. 345 

.340 

.345 

.342 

.350 

. 330 

.330 

.330 

.330 

.330 

.340 

.600 

.850 

1.550 

2.000 

2.200 

2.250 

2.250 

2.200 



0.142 
Salt. 
.163 
.170 
.182 
.195 
.202 
.204 
.205 
.205 
.210 
.210 
.218 
.222 
.222 
.225 
.230 
.240 
. 240 
.240 
.230 
.230 



Elec- 
trode. 



Casing. 



0.332 



. 330 
.325 
.320 
.340 
.320 
. 320 
.310 
.310 
.310 
.310 
. 320 
.315 
.310 
.310 
.310 
.310 
.310 
.310 



0.150 
Salt. 
.170 
.180 
.192 
.202 
.210 
.210 
.210 
.210 
.212 
.218 
.220 
. 22:5 
. 225 
.225 
.230 
.230 
.230 
.230 
. 230 
. 225 



Elec- 
trode. 



0. 390 



Remarks.a 



1 NaCl 



.390 
.380 
. 370 
.370 
.360 
.370 
.360 
.360 
.360 
.350 
. 352 
.360 
. 340 
.340 
.340 
.340 
. 330 
.330 



1 XaCl 



2X11,(1 
1 XII ,('1 



1 NH 4 C1 





1 XII, CI 






1 XaCl 










1 X1I.C1 









1 XaCl 














1 XII, CI 























«The electrolyte was lowered into well A by means of a perforated bra>-s backet, 1| by 30 Inches in 
size. The formula "2 NH 4 C1" means that two of these buckets, full of ammonium chloride, were 
introduced into well A at the time indicated. Each of these buckets held -J pounds of the salt 

b August 6. 

The time that elapses from the charging of tin 4 well A to the arrival 
of the electrolyte at the lower well gives the time necessarv for the 
ground water to cover the distance between these two wells. Hence, 



QQ 



BATE OF KOVEMENT OF DNDEBGBOUBTJ) WATERS. [no. 140. 



if the distance between the wells be divided by this lapse of time, the 
result will be the velocity of the ground water. The electrolyte does 
not appear at one of the downstream wells with very great abruptness; 
its appearance there is somewhat gradual, as shown in the curves in 



X 


»A 




/ >' * 




,' 1 






/ 1 




,' t 






/ / 




S / 






4 




£'' t 










D / 






7 




% / 






vV \ 




C i 






..> r ,.n 




• 












C 2ft 

CO 


► B 
t 






7 


1 




0.90 








AMPER 


E CUF 


VE WELL 


'B 


• 








/ 
/ 


5- 


'**% 


























/ 




0.80 
















* 








a 




























£/ 




























<?' 






0.70 








.,,-, 4 FT. _ , 










4' 














18 MRS. 










/ 
/ 








0.00 




j 
















; 






























M^/ -^c_ 


























t/ 








O.oO 






















A 
/ 1 
i — / / — 










0.40 






















/ / 

/ i 












i 




















/ 

i 








u.3() 


1 


















/ 






























1/ 






























/ 










0-20 




















/ 
/ 

• 








































































0.10 




























A 


k A 10 12 2 4 6 8 
M. M. P.M. 


10 
P.M 


12 2 4 6 
-„«. A -^ AUG. 6 


a io 

A.M. 


AUG 5 









Fig 4 -Diagram showing ampere curves at station 5 in the narrows of the San Gabriel River. 
California The heavy curve represents the strength of electric current between the casing ol 
well A and casing of well B. The dotted curve represents the strength of current between the 
electrode in well B and the casing of well B. These curves illustrate results obtained with the 
direct-reading form of apparatus. 

figs. 4 and 5. The tune required for the electrolyte to reach its maxi- 
mum strength in one of the downstream wells (and hence, for the cur- 
rent to reach its maximum value) may vary from a few minutes in a 
case of high ground-water velocity to several hours in a case of low 
velocity. The writer formerly supposed that the gradual appearance 



slichter] DIRECT-READING INSTRUMENTS. 23 

of the electrolyte at the downstream well was largely due to the diffu- 
sion of the dissolved salt, but it is now evident that diffusion plays but 
a small part in the result. The principal cause of the phenomena is 
now known to be due to the fact that the central thread of water in 
each capillary pore of the soil moves faster than the water at the walls 
of the capillary pore, just as the water near the central line of a river 
channel usually liows faster than the water near the banks. For this 
reason, if the water of a river suddenly be made muddy at a certain 
upstream point the muddy character of the water at a downstream 
point will appear somewhat gradually, being first brought down by 
the rapidly moving water in the center of the channel, and later by 
the more slowly moving water near the banks. The effect of the 
analogous gradual rise in the electrolyte in the downstream well 
requires us to select the "point of inflection" of the curve of electric 
current as the proper point to determine the true time at which the 
arrival of the electrolyte should be counted. This point is designated 
by the letter M in figs. 4 and 5. 

Owing to the repeated branching and subdivision of the capillary 
pores around the grains of the sand or gravel, the stream of electrolyte 
issuing from the well will gradually broaden as it passes downstream. 
The actual width of this charged water varies somewhat with the 
velocity of the ground water, but in no case is the rate of the diver- 
gence very great. The manner in which the electrolyte spreads has 
been carefully investigated and will be described in a later page. 

It is possible to dispense with the circuit between the casing of well 
A and the casing of each of the other wells, as the short circuit between 
the well and electrode forms the best possible indication of the arrival 
of the electrolyte at the downstream well. For cases in which the 
velocity of ground water is high, the circuit to well A is practically of 
no value; but for slow motions this circuit shows a rising current before 
the arrival of the electrolyte at the lower well, often giving indications 
of much value to the observer. 

The method can be used successfully even though nothing but com- 
mon pipe be used for the wells. In this case, however, the absence 
of screen or perforations in the wells renders the internal electrodes 
useless, and one must depend upon the circuit from well casing of 
the upstream well to well casing of downstream well. 

The results shown in fig. 5 present such a case. In this case the 
wells were not provided with well points, but merely possessed a 4-foot 
length of pipe, provided with four or five holes on opposite sides of 
the pipe containing small i-inch washer screens. These few openings 
are not sufficient to permit the electrolyte to enter the well freely, 
so that readings between casings were relied upon for results. As a 
matter of fact, enough of the electrolyte did get into the well to give 
small increased readings, but in order to obtain the electrode readings 



24 



RATI': OF MOVEMENT OF l'M)KI«}ROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 



shown in the diagram water was removed from the downstream wells 
by a small bucket holding about 6 ounces, so as to force a quantity of 
the water surrounding tin 4 well into the perforated sections. In cases 
where good well points are used the ground water charged with the 
electrolyte finds its way gradually and naturally into the well. The 
well point should be clear enough to allow as free passage into the 
well as through the soil itself. This is easily accomplished by pump- 
ing water from each test well with a common pitcher pump for a few 
minutes or until the water is fairly clear. 



ii i i iii i i i i i i i ii i i i ni i iiiiiiiiiii i ii m a 



Hi I 
CO, | 

. w 

S$| 



i ii H iii i ini ii tmim mtt 



L.I.R.R. 



.32 

.28 
.24 
.20 
.10 
.12 
-OS 
.04 
.0 



























f~6 QUARTS WATER 




























r 


TAKE 


N FROM WE 


LL 




























p 








































































2 QU/ 
TAKE 


RTS \ 
M FRO 


VATEF 
M WEI 


L 




































































































































*M 







































/ 2 Q 


JART 


3 WAT 


ER TA 


KEN f 


ROM 


VEUL 






cash* 


G 






























^ 


ELECTRODE 






























i 


1 













2.40 
2.20 
2.00 
1.80 



9 10 12 2 4 S 10 12 2 4 G 8 10 12 

A.M. 

JUNE 21 & 22, 1903 VELOCITY 5.5 FEET PER DAY 



.00 
.40 
.20 
.00 
.80 
.60 
.40 
.20 
.0 



Fig. 5.— Ampere curves at station 1, Long Island, N. Y., showing possibility of use of direct-reading 
apparatus when well points are not used. The casing in this instance consisted of common black 
2-inch pipe, with a few small holes in bottom section. The. " casing " curve must be relied upon for 
determining velocity. The "electrode" curve was obtained by drawing water from well C, as 
shown on diagram, the charged water being drawn into the well through the small holes and the 
open end of well. 

Granulated sal ammoniac is used to dose well A. A single charge 
may vary from 4 to 10 pounds. If common pipe without points or 
screen is used for the wells, so that internal electrodes must be dis- 
pensed with, doses of about 2 pounds each should be repeated about 
every hour. The dry salt should not be poured directly into the well, 
but should be lowered in perforated buckets, a photograph of one 
being shown in PL IV. These buckets are If by 30 inches and hold 
about 2 pounds of the salt. Two of these buckets may be tied one 
above the other for the initial charge, and followed by two more in 
ten or twenty minutes. 



slighter.] RECORDING INSTRUMENTS. 25 

If the wells are not too deep, the sal ammoniac may be introduced 
into the well in the form of a solution. A common bucket full of 
saturated solution is sufficient. There is an uncertainty in introducing 
the sal ammoniac in solution in deep wells, as the time required for 
the solution to sink to the bottom of the well may be considerable. 

The direct-reading ammeter used in the work has two scales, one 
reading from to 1.5 amperes and the other from to 5 amperes. 
With a o-iven number of cells, the amount of current between the 
upstream and a downstream well will depend, of course, upon several 
factors, such as the depth and distance apart of the wells, but more 
especially upon the amount of dissolved mineral matter in the ground 
water. The initial strength of the current can be readily adjusted, 
however, after the wells have been connected with the instruments, 
by turning on or off some of the battery cells by means of the switches 
at the rear of the box. It is a good plan to use enough cells to give 
an initial current between one-tenth and two-tenths of an ampere. 

RECORDING INSTRUMENTS. 

In the second form of underflow meter a self-recording instrument 
is used in place of the direct-reading ammeter, thus doing away with 
the tedious work of taking the frequent observations day and night, 
which are required when direct-reading instruments are used. The 
arrangement of the apparatus is not materially different from that 
described above. In the place of the direct-reading ammeter a special 
recording ammeter is used, of range to 2 amperes. It has been 
found practicable, although it is a matter of some difficult}', to con- 
struct an instrument of this low range that is sufficiently portable for 
field use and not too delicate for the purpose for which it is intended. 
The ammeter has a resistance of about 1.6 ohms and is provided with 
oil dash pot to dampen swing of arm carrying the recording pen. The 
instruments were manufactured by the Bristol Company. They have 
gone through hard usage in the field without serious breakage or mis- 
hap. The portability of the instruments will be materially increased 
by changes in design which are now being made. 

The method of wiring the wells when the recording instruments 
are used is slightly changed. In this case one side of the battery 
circuit is connected to casing of well A and to all of the electrodes of 
wells B, C, and D. The other side of the battery is run through the 
recording ammeter to a commutator clock, which once every hour 
makes a contact and completes the circuit, one after the other, to a 
series of binding posts. One of these binding posts is connected to 
the casing of well B, one to the casing of well C, and one to the casing 
of well D. The period of contact is ten seconds, which gives an abun- 
dance of time for the pen to reach its proper position and to properly 
ink its record. 



26 BATE OF MOVEMENT <>!•" CTNDEROROUND WATEB8. [no.14D. 

PL V, B shows a commutator clock made for this purpose by the 
instrument maker of the College of Engineering, University of Wis- 
consin. The clock movement is a standard movement of fair grade, 
costing less than $5. It can readily be taken from the case for cleaning 

or oiling and quickly replaced. A mood movement with powerful 
springs is best for this purpose. 

It will be seen from the method of wiring the wells that the record 
will show the sum of the current between well A and well B added to 

the current between the casing of well B and its electrode. The 

removal of the connection to well A would permit the record to show 
tin 1 current between the casing of a downstream well and its electrode, 
but the connection to the upstream well involves no additional trouble 
and occasionally its indications are of much service, especially if the 
velocities are low. 

One of the instruments above mentioned can be placed in a common 
box. 10 by 22 by 36 inches, covered witli tar paper and locked up. 
PI. VI, B, is a view of the instruments thus arranged. The shelf con- 
tains the recording ammeter (shown at left of cut) and the commutator 
clock (shown at right of cut). 

The contacts on the commutator clock are arranged about five min- 
utes apart, so that the record made for the wells will appear on the 
chart as a group of lines, one for each downstream well, of length 
corresponding to the strength of the current. The increasing current 
corresponding to one of the wells will finally be indicated by the 
lengthening of the record lines for that well. This can be seen In- 
consulting the records shown in PI. VII. The record charts are 
printed in light-green ink and red ink is used in the recording pen. 
so that record lines can be distinguished when superimposed upon 
the lines of the chart. A special chart has been designed for this 
work and is furnished by the Bristol Company as chart 458. 

PI. VII shows two charts made by recording ammeter. In the 
upper the electrical current for wells B, C, and D, at station 14, Long 
Island, is recorded, in the order named, at 2.10, 2.15, and 2.20 p. m.. 
and hourly thereafter, the current remaining nearly constant at .22 to 
.24 ampere until 10.15 p. m., when the current for well C rises as 
indicated in the chart. In the lower chart the electrical current for 
wells B, C, and D is recorded, in the order named, at 6.30, 6.35, and 
6.40 p. m., and hourly thereafter. The current for wells B and D 
remains constant at .25 ampere, but the current for well C rises as 
shown. 

The recording instruments in use have given perfect satisfaction 
and the method is a great improvement in accuracy and convenience 
over the direct-reading method. The highest as well as the lowest 
ground-water velocities yet found have been successfully measured 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 140 PL. VI 




A. SIMPLE FORM OF SMALL WELL-JETTING RIG. 
The men driving with 150-pound weight stand on platform attached to drivepipe. 




B. RECORDING AMMETER, COMMUTATOR CLOCK, AND BATTERY BOX IN USE IN 
THE FIELD, ARRANGED IN A ROUGH BOX, 16 BY 22 BY 36 INCHES IN SIZE. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 140 PL. VII 




CHARTS MADE BY RECORDING AMMETER. 



SLICHTER.] 



RECORDING INSTRUMENTS. 



27 



by the recording- instruments. By using one or two additional dry 
cells* the instrument may be made quite as sensitive as the direct- 
reading type. In using the recording instruments but a single dose 
of salt need he placed in the upstream well. If the wells are deep, it 
is important to use enough salt solution to make sure that the salt 
reaches as deep as the screen of the well point immediately after the 
solution is poured into the well. A gallon of solution will fill about 
6 feet of full-weight wrought-iron pipe, so that 10 gallons of solution 
should be used if well is 60 feet deep. If the proper amount of solu- 
tion be not used, it will take an appreciable time for the solution to 
reach the bottom of the well by convection currents, and the results 




0.30 y 



0.20 5 



12 M. 1 2 

JULY 3, 1904 

Fig. 6. — Ampere curves at station 10. Garden, Kans. The heavy curves represent the electric cur- 
rent between the casings of wells B and C and the electrodes inside of them. The dotted curves 
represent the electric current between wells B and C and between C and D. The electric current 
for the electrode of wellB rose earlier than for well C, and the electric current between wells B and 
C rose earlier and more abruptly than for wells C and D, indicating that the principal stream of 
electrolyte passed between wells B and C and nearer to well B than to well C 

will be vitiated to that extent. As before stated, it is preferable to 
introduce into the well granulated sal ammoniac contained in a suit- 
able bucket in case the depth of the well renders the use of a solution 
uncertain. 

In order to properly interpret results obtained in the field with the 
apparatus, it becomes necessary to investigate the behavior of the dis- 
solved electrolyte as it moves onward with the ground water after 
leaving the salted well. This matter could be investigated only in the 
laboratory, and it was sought to reproduce as nearly as possible the 
conditions found in the field. 



28 KATE OF MOVEMENT OF I'XDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 

Before Baiting the upstream well of any set of best wells the electric 
circuit should be closed between each adjacent pair of downstream 
wells, and tin 4 current should be measured with the direct-reading 

ammeter and recorded in the notebook. An occasional reading of 
these same circuits will prevent the electrolyte from passing between 
two of the downstream wells without the knowledge of the observer. 
This i- clearly shown by the results obtained with the set of wells 
represented in tig. (>. At the location of this station the direction of 
the How was at first not correctly estimated on account of its nearness 
to a river whose height was fluctuating. For that reason the down- 
stream wells were redriven at distances of but 20 inches from one 
another. The diagram gives the ampere curves for wells B and C, 
both of which were reached by the electrolyte, and also the curves of 
current between wells B and C and wells C and D. The actual direc- 
tion of flow can be seen from these curves to lie between B and C, and 
probably nearer B than C, since the curve for B rises somewhat earlier 
and the percentage increase in current is greater. The same fact is 
shown by the curves representing the current between B and C and 
between C and D. The main stream of electrolyte must have passed 
between B and C, as is show T n by the more abrupt and earlier use in 
the current between B and C as compared to that between C and D. 






CHAPTER III. 

LABOEATORY EXPERIMENTS OX THE FLOW OF WATER 
THROUGH SANDS AXD GRAVELS. 

OBJECTS OF THE EXPERIMENTS. 

During the winters of 1902-3 and 1903-4 experiments were carried 
on in the laboratory upon the flow of water through sands and gravels 
contained in tanks. The objects of these experiments were: (1) To 
verify the law of flow of water through sands and gravels under gra- 
dients similar to those found in the field; (2) to ascertain the law of 
distribution in a horizontal plane of the electrolyte used in the elec- 
trical method of determining the rate of flow of underground water; 
(3) to determine the influence of varying velocities upon this distribu- 
tion; (1) to determine, if possible, by means of apparatus approxi- 
mating actual field conditions, the relation between the distribution of 
the electroh'te and the current curve obtained by the electrical method 
of measuring ground-water velocities, thereb} T checking the accuracy 
of the method and furnishing data indicating more definitely the point 
on the current curve which should be selected in order to find the 
velocity of flow. 

For the laboratory work of 1902-3 the writer had the assistance of 
Mr. Henry C. Wolff, and the work of 1903-1 was clone by Mr. Ray 
Owen and H. L. McDonald. 

EXPERIMENTS IN THE HORIZONTAL TANK!. 

The apparatus used in the first experiments consisted of a horizontal 

wooden tank of inside dimensions 4 feet 6 inches long, 1 feet wide, and 

8 inches deep. A chamber of perforated sheet brass 3 inches wide 

was inserted in each end of the tank, so that the dimensions of the 

compartment left for the gravel was 1 by 1 feet in horizontal extent. 

The area 1 by 1 feet was divided into squares 6 inches on a side, at the 

corner of each of which a small well of slotted sheet brass, one-half 

inch in diameter, was fixed in position. A larger well, 2 inches in 

diameter, of the same material was placed in position as shown in the 

plan, fig. 7. For the first experiments the tank was filled with about 

7 inches of gravel, which we have designated as Picnic Point gravel. 

The effective size of this gravel, as determined by King's aspirators, 

was 0.93 mm. Mechanical analysis of the Picnic Point gravels will be 

found in Table VI. 

29 



30 



BATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no.140. 



Table VI. — Mechanical analysis by standard sieves of several gravels referred to in the 

text. 







Percent of total weight of 


Band passing 


No. of Bcreen- 

meshes to 

inch. 


Size of sep- 
aration of 
screen in 
millimeters. 

0. 18 


slew. 


Victorvil le 
gravel. 


Picnic 

Point 
gravel. 


Madison 

glacial 

gravel. 


100 


00.6 


00.8 


00.1 


80 


. 23 


1.0 


1.4 


0.2 


60 


.32 


L6 


6.3 


1.3 


40 


.411 


4.2 


38.6 


4.7 


30 


.70 


14.3 


83. 9 


13.1 


20 


.93 


25. 6 


98.1 


27. S 


16 


1.30 


31.4 


99. 6 


37. 2 


14 


1.40 


36. 8 


100 


46.3 


L2 


1.70 


47.6 


100 


<i.3.9 


10 


2.04 


54. 3 


100 


71.0 


8 


2. 48 


H7. 5 


100 


82.7 


Held by 8 




32. 5 




17.3 









Table VII. — Effect of formalin in preventing clogging of sand filter. 



Duration of experiment. 



First experiment, Dec. 8: 

First 10 4 hours 

Second 11/4 hours 

Second experiment, Dec. 9: 

First 11/4 hours 

Second 11 4 hours 

Third experiment, Dec. 11: 

First 5 4 hours 

Second 5/4 hours 



Average 
head. 



Inches. 

0. 230 

.227 

.188 
.185 

.170 
. 174 



3 


4 


Average 

flow of 

water per 

one-fourth 

hour. 


Flow per 
unit 
head. 


Pounds. 




6.57 


28.56 


6.48 


28. 54 


6.13 


30.96 


6.01 


30.90 


•"». 7") 


29.22 


5.89 


29.24 



Tempera- 
ture. 



14.4 



14.0 



Mean hy- 
draulic 
gradient 
per mile. 



Feet. 
25.3 



Velocity 

of water 

per 

diem. 



Feet. 
15.4 



20.5 



14.2 



14.0 



18.9 



13. 



Note. — This table shows the influence of a small amount of formalin in preventing 
the clogging of a sand filter when water is run through it continuously. Compare 
the flow per unit head during first portion of each experiment with the flow during the 
second period, as given in column 4. The experimental error is greater than the 
small differences in these numbers. The low gradients and the low velocities used 
can be seen in columns 6 and 7. 

The tank of gravel was securely mounted in a horizontal position 
and gages of glass tubing communicating with the chambers at the 



SI.K HTER.] 



EXPEEIMENTS IN THE HORIZONTAL TANK. 



31 



ends of the tank were adjusted to show the level of water at each end 
of the tank. By means of these gages it was easily possible to measure 
the height of the water in the end compartments within one two-hun- 
dredths of an inch. Water was permitted to flow into one of the end 
compartments from galvanized tubs placed on a platform scale. 
From the tubs the water passed through 3 or 4 feet of rubber tubing 



Upper chamber 
Perforated brass 



W 

Salt well 



o o o 



o o o 



o o o 



Perforated brass 
Lower chamber 



Outlet 
Fig. 7.— Plan of the horizontal tank used in the determination of the spread of an electrolyte when flow- 
ing with the water through a sand or gravel. The tank was 4 feet 6inches long, 4 feet wide, and 8 
inches deep. Two perforated brass screens 3 inches from each end left a compartment for gravel 
4 by 4 feet in area. A 2-inch well of perforated brass was set at the point marked W, in which 
the electrolyte was placed. The small circles represent the location of the test wells, from which 
samples of water could be taken as desired. 

to a conically ground needle valve operated by a float placed in the 
upper compartment or chamber of the tank. It was found possible so 
to adjust this valve that the level of the water in the upper compart- 
ment was maintained constant during an experiment extending over 
several hours. The water was permitted to escape from the lower 



32 



RATI Ofi MOVEMENT OF UNDERGBOUND WATERS. [n<>. ho. 



compartment in the tank by means of a '-inch pipe, the height of the 
overflow being adjustable. 

Table VIII. — Data obtained during experiments on flow of water in horizontal tank. 



No. 


Date i 
periment, 

190-2-3. 


Hydraulic 
gradient. 


Av« •: 

depth of 
water. 


Velocity 

of ground 

water. 


Velocity 

per unit 
head. 


Tempera- 
ture of 
water. 


Salt used in experiment. 








Ft. p< r 

milt . 


Inclu s. 


Ft. in r, 

Jus. 


Ft. in U 
hrs. 


°C. 




1.... 


Dee. 


8 


25. 30 


5. 84 


15. 4 


0.61 


14.4 


None used. 


2.... 


Dec. 


9 


20. 50 


5.83 


14.2 


.69 


14.0 


Do. 


3.... 


Dec. 


11 


18. 90 


5. 82 


13.7 


.63 


14.0 


Do. 


4 


Dec. 


20 


18.70 


5.88 


13.2 


.70 


20.5 


Dry .\II 4 C1. 


5.... 


Jan. 


3 


17.60 


5.12 


12.9 


.73 


20.0 


Do. 


6.... 


Jan. 


< 


21.45 


5.10 


12.1 


.56 


18.8 


Dry NaOl. 


7.... 


Jan. 


14 


22. 00 


5.12 


13.8 


.63 


17.8 


Con. XH 4 OH. 


8-... 


Jan. 


17 


18. 54 


5.09 


9. 3 


.50 


18.8 


Do. 


9.... 


Jan. 


30 


18.92 


5.18 


11.6 


.61 


17.8 


Dry A H 4 C1. ^ 
NaOH. 


10.... 


Feb. 


9 


19.03 


5.17 


11.25 


.59 


20.0 


Dry T \ NH 4 C1. T % 
NaOH. 


11.... 


Feb. 


18 


21. 45 


5.15 


11.68 


.54 


18.8 


Sol. NH 4 C1. 


12.... 


Feb. 


23 


42. 35 


5.28 


21.70 


.51 


19.1 


Do. 


13.... 


Mar. 


3 


64.90 


5. 21 


36.00 


.55 


20.1 


Do. 


14.... 


Mar. 


9 


64.24 


5.21 


35.5 


.55 


20.3 


Sol. W NH 4 C1. t V 
NaOH. 


15.... 


Mar. 


16 


66. 55 


5.25 


36.4 


. 55 


21.7 


Dry T 'V ^H 4 C1. T V 
XaOH. 


16.... 


May 


4 


103.2 


6.68 


11.47 


.11 


22.0 


XH 4 C1. 


17.... 


May 


14 


105.6 


6.70 


11.60 


.11 


18.2 


&NH 4 C1. yV NaOH. 


18 


May 


23 


107.8 


6.69 


11.90 


.11 




NaOH. 









Note.— In experiments 1-15 ''Picnic Point graver' was used, and in experiments 
16, 17, 18 Madison glacial sand was used. 

The water used in the experiment was obtained from Lake Mendota. 
Madison, Wis., and before use was freed from suspended material by 
passing through a filter of charcoal and sand. Before passing through 
the gravel in the tank, one part in 500 of 40 per cent solution of forma- 
lin was added to the water so as to inhibit the growth of organisms. 
Previous experimenters on the now of water through sands and 
gravels experienced much difficulty on account of the progressive 
reduction in now of water through the sand when an experiment 
extended over a considerable length of time. No means had been 
found for avoiding this difficulty: even the use of distilled water was 
not entirely effective. It was difficult to explain this phenomenon 
except on the basis of the growth of organisms in the pores of the 



SLIGHTER.] 



EXPERIMENTS IN THE HORIZONTAL TANK. 



33 



DEC. 20, 1902 




° O O o 

nno 



i o n o ol 



WELL SALTED AT 9.30 A.M. 
NH 4 CI. 



Fig. 8.— Diagram showing the manner in which the electrolyte spread in passing downstream with 
the ground water, in experiment 4, in the horizontal tank. The dot at W shows the location of 
the salted well, and samples were taken from the sand from the small test wells represented by 
dots in the diagram. The areas of the circles are proportional to the strength of the electrolyte 
found at their centers. The area covered by the charged water at the time specified is shown by a 
roughly sketched outline. The velocity of the ground water in the direction of the arrows was 
13.2 feet for twenty-four hours. Electrolyte used was sal ammoniac. 



3: 00 P.M 



4.0MM. JAN.7,1903 5.00,P.M^ 
^6 



6!00,P.M. 




Fig. 9.— Diagram showing the results of experiment 6. Representation of wells and other features as 
in fig. 8. The velocity of the ground water was 12.1 feet for twenty-four hours. The electrolyte 
used was common salt. 

JBR 140— Q§— § 



34 RATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. Lno.MOl 




Pig. 10.— Diagram showing the results of experiment 8. Representation of wells and other features 
as in fig. 8. The velocity of the ground water was 9.3 feet for twenty-four hours. The electrolyte 
used was concentrated ammonia water. 



12.00 M. 




JAN. 30, 1903 



V.00 P.M. 





Fig. 11.— Diagram showing the results of experiment 9. Representation of wells and other features 
as in fig. 8. The velocity of the ground water was 11.6 feet for twenty-four h<>ur> The electro- 
lyte used was one-Tenth caustic soda and nine-tenths sal ammoniac. 



SI.ICHTEK. 



EXPERIMENTS IN THE HORIZONTAL TANK. 



35 



sand used in the experiments. For this reason the formalin was added 
to the water in the hope that if this were the correct explanation the 
difficulty would vanish. Several experiments were made for the 
especial purpose of determining the effect of the formalin in inhibit- 
ing the organic growth in the filter. Table VII gives the result of 
three such experiments. The duration of each experiment was divided 
into two nearly equal periods, and the average head of water as shown 
by the gages and the average flow of water, as determined by weigh- 
ing both the water admitted to the tank and the water leaving it at the 



3.30 P.M. 




FEB. 9, 1903 



4.30. P.M. 




6.30 P.M. 




WELL SALTED AT 2.30 P.M. 
3/io NAOH 8 /, NH 4 CI. 
8.30 P.M. 




O OO o o 
o o O O o 

o OQOo 

o O O o o 



Fig. 12.— Diagram showing the results of experiment 10. Representation of wells and other features 
as in fig. 8. The velocity of the ground water was 11^ feet for twenty-four hours. The electro- 
lyte was two-tenths caustic soda and eight tenths sal ammoniac. 



lower end, were determined for each of the two periods into which 
each experiment was divided. It will be seen by consulting column 
4 of the table that the flow of water per unit head during the first 
portion of each experiment was essentially identical per unit head to 
the second portion of each experiment. The slight differences in the 
numbers is much smaller than the unavoidable experimental error. It 
was concluded, therefore, that the progressive clogging of a sand 
filter is duo to the growth of organisms, and that the formalin added 
constituted an effective reined v. 



36 



RATE OF MOVEMENT OF (T2TOERGBOUND WATERS. [no.140. 



Altogether L8 experiments were carried out in this tank. In the 
first L5 tests Picnic Point gravel was used in the tank: during the last 
3 tine glacial sand replaced the Picnic Point gravel. The glacial sand 
had effective size o\' grain, as determined by King's aspirator, of 
<».4<> mm. A mechanical analysis of the Band is given in Table VI, 



WELL SALTED AT 2:00 P.M 





6 P.M. 





O O o 
8 P.M. 



Fig. 13.— Diagram showing the results of experiment 11. Representation of wells and other features 
as in Bg. 8. The velocity of the ground water was 11.7 feet for twenty-four hours. The electro- 
lyte was sal ammoniac in concentrated solution. 

(p. 30), and a summary of the data obtained during the experiments 
is placed in Table VIII. 

No difficulty was experienced in maintaining very low gradients to 
the water plane in the tank, a slope of water of 18 feet to the mile 
being easily brought about by proper adjustment in the apparatus. 
In this way actual field conditions of the flow of water were very 



SLICHTER.] 



EXPERIMENTS IN THE HORIZONTAL TANK. 



37 



closely approximated, and velocities less than 10 feet a day could be 
maintained by the use of the low gradients. The large well marked W 
was designed to receive various electrolytes while the water was mov- 
ing through the gravel under the selected uniform head. The small 
one-half inch wells placed at the corners of the 6 inch squares were 
designed to serve as test wells from which samples of the water could 
be taken at stated intervals, and the exact area spread over by the 
electrolyte could be ascertained by chemical analyses. A series of 
pipettes were coupled together in such a way as to permit the taking 
of a sample from each row of test wells at the same time. By the use 




9:15 A.M. 





1 1:15 A.M. 



WELL SALTED AT 8:45 A.M. 



Fig. 14. — Diagram showing the results of experiment 12. Representation of wells and other features 
as in fig. 8. The velocity of the ground water was 21.7 feet for twenty-four hours. The electro- 
lyte was sal ammoniac in concentrated solution. 

of this device a complete set of samples could be taken from all the 
test wells in the tank in a very few minutes. 

The results of the experiments are best shown b} T the series of dia- 
grams figs. 8 to 20, in which the strength of the electrolyte found at 
each test well is shown by a circle of appropriate size. 

Among the various electrolytes tested were ammonium chloride (sal 
ammoniac), sodium chloride (common salt), concentrated ammonia 
water, and mixtures of ammonium chloride and caustic soda, or lye. 
One of the most remarkable conclusions from the experiments was that 
diffusion plays but a very small part in the spread of the electrolyte 
through the ground water. In none of the experiments was it found 



38 



RATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. mo. 



7.30 P.M. 




MARCH 



WELL SALTED AT 
8.30 P.M. ' N H4 CI 









Fig. 15. — Diagram showing the results of experiment 13. Representation of wells and other features 
as in fig. 8. The velocity of the ground water was 3fi feet for twenty-four hours. The electrolyte 
was sal ammoniac in concentrated solution. Note the narrow stream of electrolyte due to the high 
velocity. 



7.00 P.M. 



MARCH 9, 1903 
7^30 P.M. 8. 00 P.M. 8*30 P.M. 



9.00 P.M. 




WELL SALTED AT 6.30 P.M. 
V.oNaOH 9 /ioNH4 CI. 



Fi<;. 16.— Diagram showing the results of experiment 14. -Representation of wells and other features 
as in fig. B. The velocity of the ground water was :;.'>: feet for twenty-four hours. The electrolyte 
waa one-tenth caustic soda and nine-tenths sal ammoniac in solution. 



SLICHTEB.] 



EXPERIMENTS IN THE HORIZONTAL TANK. 



39 



MARCH 16, 1903 



6.00 P.M. 




WELL SALTED AT 5.30 P.M 



V10NH4 CI. VioNaOH 



7.00P.M. 



/ ° \ 


I O \ 


I O \ 


I O O O : 



6.30 P.M. 
. \ . 



A 

' o 

o o 



'.o O O; 




8.00, P.M. 




Fig. 17.— Diagram showing the results of experiment 15. Representation of wells and other features 
as in fig. 8. The velocity of the ground water was 3(>.4 feet for twenty-four hours. The electrolyte 
was one-tenth caustic soda and nine-tenths sal ammoniac in dry crystals. 



Fig. 18. 
as in rig 




Diagram showing the results of experiment 16. Representation of wells and other features 
8. The velocity of the ground water was 11.5 feel for twenty-four hours. The electrolyte 



was sal ammoniac. 



40 BATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 



4.00 P. M 



10. OOP. M 




MAY.14 



5.00.P.M. 




1903 
G.00,P.M. 



800P.M. 





WELL SALTED AT 3.00 P.M 



V. V10NH4 CI. JioNaOH 



Fig. 19.— Diagram showing the results of experiment 17. Representation of wells and other features 
as in fig. 8. The velocity of the ground water was 11.6 feet for twenty-four hours. The electrolyte 
was one-tenth caustic soda and nine-tenths sal ammoniac. 



1.00.P.M. 



MAY 23, 1903- ^j^ 




WELL 



4.00.P.M. 




SALTED AT 12.00 M. 
NaOH 




6.00 P.M. 

4 




Fig. 20.— Diagram showing the results of experiment 18. Representation of wells and other features 



as in fig. x. The velocity of the ground water was 11 
was caustic soda. 



9 feet for twenty-four hours 



The electrolyte 



slichtek.] EXPERIMENTS IN THE VERTICAL TANK. 41 

that the electrolyte extended more than about 3 inches upstream from 
the large well W. This fact can be seen by consulting the series of 
diagrams illustrating the distribution of electrolyte. In general, it 
can be seen that the electrolyte moves downstream in a pear-shaped 
mass, the width of the stream varying somewhat with the nature 
of the electrolyte used. The high velocities always gave a stream 
of electrolyte which was quite narrow and the low velocities gave 
broader streams. The solution of concentrated ammonia water gave 
the broadest stream. This was probably due not so much to the dif- 
fusion of the ammonia gas in the water as to the low coefficient of 
viscosity of the ammonia water. Experiments in the field had indi- 
cated that the mixture of sal ammoniac and caustic soda would spread 
in a broader stream than sal ammoniac alone. By comparing the 
results of experiments 14 and 15 with that of experiment 13, it will 
be seen that this assumption could not be verified to an} T considerable 
extent. In a similar wa} T , experiments 9 and 10 may be compared 
with experiment 8, and experiments 17 and 18 may be compared with 
experiment 16. 

It seems to be conclusively shown by these experiments, as has been 
already stated (pp. 22-23), that the diffusion of the dissolved salt plays 
a very small part in the wa} T in which the electrolyte is distributed in 
the moving current of ground water, but, as already stated, that the 
central thread of water in each capillary pore of the soil moves faster 
than the water in contact with the walls of the capillary pore. Like- 
wise the spread of the electrolyte, as shown by these experiments, is 
not to be explained by the diffusion of the salt, but must be explained 
by the continued branching and subdivision of the capillary pores 
around the individual grains of the sand. The stream of electrolyte 
issuing from the salt w T ell W will gradually broaden as it passes down- 
stream, because each thread of it must divide and divide again and 
again as it meets with each succeeding grain of soil. If diffusion had 
much to do with its rate of spread, it would also make itself apparent 
b} T causing an upstream motion to the electrolyte against the current 
of ground water. As before stated, in no case did the electrolyte 
succeed in moving upstream a distance as great as 3 inches. 

EXPERIMENTS IN THE VERTICAL TANK. 

The experiments carried on in the winter of 1903-4 had as their 
object, in addition to those of the previous year, the determination of 
the law of distribution of the electrolyte in a vertical plane. For this 
purpose a tank was constructed of wood, as shown in fig. 21 and PI. 
VIII. The inside dimensions of this tank were 4 feet high, 4 feet (5 
inches long, and 8 inches wide. At each end of the tank chambers 3 
inches wide were constructed of perforated brass, similar to those 



42 



RATE OF MOVEMENT <>F DNDERGBOUND WATERS. [no. uo. 



used in the horizontal tank. leaving a total length of 4 feet available 
for gravel. Horizontal tubes of slotted brass one-half inch in diameter 
extended through the side of the tank at the corners of squares 6 
inches on a side, as shown by the small circles in the side elevation, 
fig. 21, These tubes of horizontal test wells were stuck through holes 
bored in the side of the tank and were supported at one end by a 
thumb tack soldered to the end of the tube and at the other end by 
the side of the tank, the tube being slightly longer than the inside 
width of the tank. A perforated rubber stopper containing a glass 
tube was placed in the hole, one end of the glass tube extending to 
the middle of the tank, the other end of the tube projecting outside of 
the rubber stopper to receive a small rubber tube, which was kept 
closed by means of a pinchcock. These tubes furnished ready means 
of drawing out samples of water from different positions in the tank. 
On top of the tank, in the reproduction of the photograph of the 
apparatus. PI. VIII. can be seen the scales carrying the tubs of gal- 
vanized iron from which the water was run to a regulating apparatus 
consisting of a needle valve and float at the upper left-hand corner of 
the box similar to that used in the horizontal tank. The head of water 
in the two end chambers of the tank was measured by two glass gages 
placed about one-half inch apart, communicating with the chambers 
by large rubber tubes. The readings of the meniscus in the glass 
tubes of the gages could be readily estimated to one-half hundredth of 
an inch. 

The gravel used in the experiments in the vertical tank was Madi- 
son glacial sand, the same as that used in experiments 16, 17, and 18 
in the horizontal tank. Seven experiments were completed with this 
apparatus, the general results of which are tabulated in Table IX. 

Table IX. — Data obtained during experiments on flow of ivater through Madison glacial 

sand in the vertical tank. 



Date. 



1904. 

Feb. 22 

.Mar. 2 

.Mar. 3 

Mar. 5 

Mar. 12 

Apr. 18 



V Apr. 11) 



Tempera- 
ture. 



17.8 
19.2 
14.0 
18.4 
16.0 
14.9 
17.0 



H yd raul ic gradient. 



Per cent. 

3.10 
2.08 
5.41 
1.00 
2.10 
11.91 
5. 58 



Feet per 

in il> . 

164 
110 
286 
53 
112 
630 
295 



Discharge. 



Pounds 

pi r hour. 

36.25 
26.53 
56.00 
9.94 
23.36 
129.66 
51.68 



Cubic feet per 

mi ll nil . 

0. 00965 
. 00706 
.0149 
. 002645 
. 00622 
. 034H 
.0138 



Area of 

cross sec- 
tion. 


Velocity. 


Sijnare 
Jul. 


Feet ]>( r 
litem. 


2.34 


16.90 


2.54 


11.42 


2.50 


24. 50 


2.56 


4.28 


2. 54 


10.10 


2.42 


58. 80 


2.50 


22.70 



Velocity 

per unit 

head. 



Feet per 
diem. 

0.10 

.10 

.09 

.08 

.09 

.09 

.08 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 140 PL. VIM 




VERTICAL TANK USED IN LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS. 

The small test wells from which samples were drawn are equipped with glass gauges containing colored 
water, indicating distribution of pressure while right chamber of tank is kept empty. 



I.U IITER.] 



EXPERIMENTS IN THE VERTICAL TANK. 



43 



The electrolyte was introduced into the well marked V\ r , shown in 
fig. '21, and the samples from the various test wells were drawn out at 
stated intervals into test tubes and analyzed. The results of the 




Fig. 21.— Diagram showing construction and dimensions of vertical tank used in laboratory experi- 
ments on the flow of ground water. The small circles indicate the position of the test wells. 

experiments on the vertical distribution of the electrolyte are best 
shown b} 7 the diagrams, a series of which are given in figs. 22 to 29. 




Pig. 22.— Diagram showing results of vertical-tank experiment 1, February 22, 1904. Well W was 
salted at 11.40 a. m. with sal ammoniac; velocity of the ground water was 17.06 feet a day, head, 1J 
inches. The contours show the distribution of salt at 12.10 p. m. 

In the series of six diagrams for experiment 1 the distribution of 
the electrolyte is shown by the contour curves for each one-half hour 



44 



RATE OF MOVEMENT <>F UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 



period after t ho beginning of the experiment. A single dose of 2 



ounces of sal ammoniac was introduced into the well \V 




it L1.40a. in., 



Fig. 23.— Diagram showing results of vertical-tank experiment 1, February 22, 1904. Well W was 
salted at 11.40 a. m. with sal ammoniac; velocity of the ground water was 17. 0G feet a day: head, 1$ 
inches". The contours show the distribution of salt at 12.40 p. m. 

on February 22, 1904. As will be observed by consulting the dia- 
grams, the dissolved salt entered the ground water and passed to the 




Fig. 24.— Diagram showing results of vertical-tank experiment 1. February 22,1904. Well W was 
Baited at 11.40 a. m. with sal ammoniac, velocity of the ground water was 17.06 ieet a day; head, 1.} 
inches. The contours show the distribution of salt at 1.40 p. m 

right with the moving stream, at the same time moving si ightly down- 
ward, as shown bv the contour curves. The velocity of water through 



SUCHTER.] 



EXPERIMENTS IN THE VERTICAL TANK. 



45 



the gravel during this experiment was about 17 feet for twenty-four 
hours. The elliptical outline of the contour curves is due to the two 




Fig. 25. — Diagram showing results of vertical-tank experiment 1, February 22, 1904. Well W was 
salted at 11.40 a. m. with sal ammoniac; velocity of the ground water was 17.06 feet a day; head, 
1£ inches. The contours show the distribution of salt at 2.40 p. m. 

components of motion, one component being the velocity of ground 
water to the right, and the other being the downward motion, due to 




Fig. 26.— Diagram showing results of vertical-tank experiment 1, February 22, 1904. Well W was 
salted at 11.40 a. m. witn sal ammoniac; velocity of the ground water was 17.06 ieet a day; head, 
1£ inches. The contours show the distribution of salt at 3.40 p. m. 

the high density of the solution of sal ammoniac. It will be noticed 
that the elliptical contour lines have their longest dimension sloping 



46 



BATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 



downward t<> tin* right, us they should if they represent the resultant 
of these two motions. It should also be noted (consult the diagrams) 




Fig. 27.— Diagram showing results of vertical-tank experiment 1, February 22, 1904. Well W was 
salted at 11.40 a. m. with sal ammoniac; velocity of the ground water was 17.06 feet a day; head, 
li- inches. The contours show the distribution of the salt at 4.40 p. m. A second dose of salt was 
placed in well \Y at 4 p. m., and the diagram represents the two masses of electrolyte passing for- 
ward with the ground water. 




Fig. 28.— Diagram showing results of vertical-tank experiment 2, March 2, 1904. Well W was salted 
at 2.25 p. m. The velocity of ground water was 11.42 feet a day; head, 1 inch. The salt used was 
sal ammoniac. Contours show the distribution of salt at 2.55 p. m. 

that after an interval of an hour nearly all of the electrolyte had left 
well W, and the water in the well had become fresh again, At 4 p. m. 



SI.ICHTER.] 



EXPERIMENTS IN THE VERTICAL TANK. 



47 



an additional dose of sal ammoniac was placed in well W, the effect of 
which is clearly shown in the contour curves for 4.40 p. m. Here 
two m?sses of dissolved electrolytes can be observed traveling simul- 
taneously through the sand. It should also be noted in these diagrams 
that the electrolyte does not pass upstream, or against the current of 
ground water more than lor 2 inches. 

Two sets of contour curves are also given for the second experiment, 
that of March 2, 1904, in which the same electrolyte was used, but the 
velocit} T of the ground water was reduced to 11.42 feet for twenty-four 
hours. The well W was salted at 2.25 p. m., contours being given for 
2.25 and 7.25 p. m. It will be observed that for the lower velocit} T of 
ground water the electrolyte sinks to a greater depth than in the case 




Fig. 29.— Diagram showing results of vertical-tank experiment 2, March 2, 1904. Well W was salted 
at 2.25 p. m. The velocity of ground water was 11.42 feet a day; head, 1 inch. The salt used was 
sal ammoniac. The contours show the distribution of salt at 7.25 p. m. A comparison of figs. 28 
and 29 with 22 to 27 shows the larger vertical motion of the electrolyte, in the case of the lower 
velocity of experiment 2, as compared with the higher velocity prevailing during experiment 1. 

of the higher velocities of the first experiment. Experiments were 
also carried out with common lye as ■ electrolyte. This salt is very 
much heavier than sal ammoniac, and it was noted that it sank much 
faster than the solution of sal ammoniac for similar velocities of 
ground water. 

One of the most interesting experiments with the vertical tank was 
made for the purpose of determining the amount of diffusion of the 
electrolyte. For this purpose the electrolyte was introduced into the 
well W and the ground water was permitted to remain stationary, no 
water being run into or out of the tank during the eight hours covered 
by the experiment. The well \Y is placed exactly midway between 



48 



KATE OF MOVEMENT OF I' N DKRGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 



columns and 1 of the small test wells, as can be seen from the dia- 
gram. For the purpose of the " still" experiment the uppermost test 
well of column 2 was removed and well \Y was placed directly over 
column 2. A charm 1 of salt was introduced into the well W at 9 a. m.. 
and samples were taken at the end of one-half hour and at the end of 
each hour thereafter until 5 p. in. The salt was found to drop verti- 
cally with a rapidity equal to the vertical component of motion noted 
in the experiments in which now took place. In the eight hours of 
the test no portion of the charge could be detected in the test wells of 
columns 1 or 3. This experiment showed that the electrolyte had not 



























( 


)58.9 
























































































































































62.6 
37.2 1^/ 




















































y^6' 




















































60.8 


























65.1 



























,005 .01 .015 .02 .025 .03 -035 

DISCHARGE IN CUBIC FEET PER MINUTE 
Fig. 30.— Diagram illustrating the variation in the rate of flow of ground water with the variation in 
head or hydraulic gradient, as observed in the experiments in the vertical tank. The figures 
attached to the small circles in the diagram designate the temperature, Fahrenheit, of the ground 
water during the experiment. The straight line represents the theoretical law of flow if the rate 
of flow varies directly as the head. 

diffused sufficiently to reach the wells of columns 1 and 3, while drop- 
ping a vertical distance of about 3 feet. 

The law of direct variation of the flow of ground waters with the 
head under which the flow takes place are verified by the experiments 
in the tank. The results are represented graphically in fig. 30. Exact 
agreement with this law would require all of the plotted points in this 
diagram to lie upon the straight line, provided the temperatures were 
the same. The larger departures from the straight line are not due to 
temperature differences, but to the high viscosity of the lye solutions 
used in those particular experiments^ 



SLIGHTER. j 



LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS. 49 



INVESTIGATION OF THE ACCURACY OF THE ELECTRIC METHOD OF 
DETERMINING THE VELOCITY OF THE FLOW OF GROUND WATERS. 

The vertical tank offered a ready means of checking the accuracy of 
the method of measuring the velocity of ground waters with the 
electric underflow meter. For this purpose the chambers of per- 
forated brass at the upper and lower ends of the tank served as the 
upstream and downstream wells, respectively, and an electrode was 
sunk in the sand 2 inches from the lower partition, which answered 
the purpose of the electrode usually placed inside the downstream well. 
The apparatus was then connected in accordance with the method used 
in actual held work. A solution of sal ammoniac was placed in the 
upper chamber. The water running through the tank was weighed 
before it entered and after it left the apparatus, and observations 
were made of the electric current every fifteen minutes and sometimes 
oftener. Two experiments were made, one with a head of water of 
2.68 inches and one with a head of 5.75 inches. From the weight of 
water discharged the computed velocity during the former was 23.15 
feet a day, and during the latter the velocity was 58 feet a day. 
From the points of inflection of the two electrode curves the velocities 
were computed to be, respectively, 23.25 and 64.10 feet a day. This 
shows agreement in the case of the lower velocity within a very small 
fraction of 1 per cent, and in the case of the higher velocity within 
10^ per cent of the actual rates. These results show that the electric 
method is sufficiently accurate for the purposes for which it is intended. 
It is very likely that if the tank in which these experiments were 
carried out had been wider the percentage agreement for the high 
velocity would be even closer than 10 per cent, for it must be remem- 
bered that the narrowness of the tank tended to bring the concentrated 
portion of the stream of electrolyte to a given downstream point more 
rapidly than if the tank had been wide enough to permit the electro- 
lyte to spread in its natural way. 
irr 140—05 4 



CII A l'TER IV. 

MEASUREMENTS OF THE UNDERFLOW AT THE NARROWS 
OF THE RIO HONDO AND SAN GABRIEL RIVER, CALI- 
FORNIA. 

The following underflow measurements were made during the sum- 
mer of 1902 at the narrows of the Rio Hondo and the San Gabriel 
River, about 10 miles east of Los Angeles, Cal. The ultimate source 
of the streams referred to is found in the San Gabriel Mountains, a 
range which runs nearly east and west about 40 or 50 miles from the 
southern coast line of California. The main portion of the mountain 
drainage which supplies this particular stream is collected into one of 
the large canyons of the range, known as the San Gabriel Canyon. 
Like that of other streams that originate in these mountains, the 
water is not carried above ground much farther than the mouth of 
the can} T on, except in times of extreme flood. The ordinary flow of 
the river sinks into an enormous alluvial delta cone of gravel and 
mountain debris, and passes underground in a broad, gently sloping 
valley until it is interrupted by a line of shale hills about 10 miles 
south of the mountain range. This line of hills acts as a dam to the 
underground waters, except for a break about 2 miles in width, where 
the drainage of the valley escapes to the sea. This break constitutes 
the so-called "Narrows" of the river. In consequence of the narrow 
outlet a large quantity of the ground water is brought to the surface, 
first showing itself about 2 miles above the narrows, and increasing in 
volume as it enters the contracted part of the pass. At the present 
time the surface waters appear as two distinct streams, the Rio Hondo 
on the west side and the San Gabriel River on the east side of the 
narrows. 

In August, 1900, the flow of the Hondo at Old Mission bridge was 
23 second-feet. The flow of the San Gabriel was somewhat larger. 
The Whitney electrolytic bridge indicates that the ground water and 
surface waters are substantially identical in character, containing 15 to 
25 parts per 100,000 total solids. 

The measurements of the rate of underflow were made by the elec- 
trical method as previously described in this paper. At the time of 
making these measurements the recording instruments had not been 
perfected for field use. so that all of the work was done with the hand 
apparatus. The test wells used were 2-inch drive wells, with 42-inch 
50 



slkhter] NARROWS OF HONDO AND SAN GABRIEL, CALIFORNIA. 51 

points and 18-inch well-point extensions. The wells were arranged 
as usual, one upstream, designed to receive the electrolyte, and the 
others downstream, 2 feet apart on an arc of a circle of 4-foot 
radius. In most instances the electrolyte moving with the ground 
water would show itself at but one of the downstream wells, but in 
one or two cases it reached two of the downstream wells, and in a 
few cases the first setting of the wells did not correspond to the actual 
direction of the motion, so that the lower wells were not touched at all 
by the dissolved electrolyte. 

Measurements were made at four stations located within the narrows 
of the rivers named. The first and second stations were located under 
a wagon bridge over Rio Hondo near the Old Mission. Two groups 
of wells were driven, and the location and direction of these wells 
with reference to the bridge are shown in fig. 31. The electrical cur- 
rent was observed separately for a circuit between the casing of the 
upstream well and the casing of each of the downstream wells, and 
also for the circuit between the casing of each downstream well and 
the brass rod electrode contained within it, a direct-reading ammeter 
being used. The velocity at the first station was 3.8 feet per diem. 
The direction of flow departed slightly from the direction of the sur- 
face river, being 10 degrees west of south. 

At the second station the electrolyte showed itself at both of the 
downstream wells, being stronger, however, in well F. The velocity 
here was 6.6 feet a da}\ Points of special interest are the several 
steps in which the ampere curves rise, as shown on the electrode cir- 
cuits for both wells E and F. These indicate different velocities of 
ground water in the different strata penetrated by the wells. The w T ell 
points and well -point extensions being covered with new bright brass 
gauze in these first tests, the different porous strata registered them- 
selves on the brass gauze by blackened bands caused by the corroding 
influence of the electrolyte. In the present case there were three dis- 
tinct zones marked off on the wells, of about 24, 20, and 8 inches each. 
The velocities in these strata undoubtedly differed from one another, 
and hence caused the steps in the ampere curve. At both stations 
1 and 2 the ground water was artesian in character, rising in the wells 
about an inch for each additional foot increase in depth. The wells 
were 16 feet deep and showed about 15 inches of artesian head above 
the water in the flowing stream. 

The third station was established on the San Gabriel River just 
below the wagon bridge on the Whittier road. A special point of 
interest at this location is the fact that the river totally disappears in 
its gravel bed a few rods below this bridge. We hoped to secure 
some facts concerning the direction and velocity of the disappearing 
water. A double row of wells was driven across the river bed in three 



-VJ 



RATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [No.l4a 



groups about 33 feet apart, as shown in fig. 32. All of the wells. 
except a group near the left bank, pumped very poorly and were 
evidently in very tight material. The group of wells near the left 




1.40 
1.30 
1.20 
1.10 










AMPERE CURVE WELL' 


B' 










"*\ 




































\ 

\ 


































1 
1 

1 






























<D 1 
73 1 
O | 






I 
1 

I 




































\ 
\ 


0.90 


























, 


1 
1 








0.70 


























/ 
/ 
1 


































1 
/ 
1 


















-Vel.= 


. 4 F 


t- -T 


8 Ft. 


Per D 










1 


■.oy 
















25Hrs. v 


ay ; - 








li 


0.40 


























fie; 


V 
































\/ 










O.30 
0.20 
0.10 
























/ 1 

/ 1 

' 1 
/ 


































* 














































5> 


IM. 


7 9 


AM. 11 


A.M. 1 1 


>.M. 


3 


b 


7 


3 11 


P.M. 1 


A.M. 


3 ! 




< 


) 11 


A.M. 1 ( 


>.M. 3 



JULY 20" 



JULY 21- 



Fk.. 31.— Diagrams showing the velocity and direction of How of the 

bank consisted of one upstream well, E, and two downstream wells, 
F and G. These wells evidently penetrated two different strata of 
water, as a velocity of 48 feet a day was observed between E and F, 



6Lichtbb.] NARROWS OF HONDO AND SAN GABRIEL, CALIFORNIA. 53 

while a second result was strongly developed, indicating a velocity 
between E and G of 4.8 feet a day. This latter rate was due to the 
lower stratum of water, whose direction of motion crossed at an angle 
of 35 : that of the upper current of disappearing river water. Fur- 
ther observations at this point were rendered impossible by the break- 
ing of a dam some distance above the station, which completely 
flooded the wells after the above observations had been made. 

The fourth station was established in a walnut grove on Temple's 
ranch, near the main road from El Monte to Downey. This location 
is about half way between the two bluffs of the narrows. The group 
consisted of four wells, and a velocity was found to be rather low, 14 
inches a day. The direction of flow was due south. 

The fifth station was on the bank of the San Gabriel River, just 



0.70 










AMPE 


RE CI 


RVE WELL" 


F" 




> 


• 


-- 


1 


0.60 




















* 


























* 

/ 










HI ' 

cc 


1 




. 4 Ft. 


6.6 Ft. 


Per Da) 




/ 






Casing 






111 




Ve 


'• 14.5Hrs. 






0- 

2 0.30 

< 






























z^^" 


<^**" 


















' 




i^~ 














/ 










































l 









AMPERE 


CURVE 


\ WEL 


L*E* 




























r~~ m 


t \ e c* 


oi e .-_' 





















/ 

/ 


/ 






















* 


Casi 


ng 













































































8 10 P.M. 12 

-JULY 22 x- 



10 A.M. 12 M, 2 P.M. 



— JULY 23-- 



6 P.M. 



underground water at tin- narrows of the Rio Hondo, stations 1 and 2. 



above the head works of the Ranchita and Los Nietos ditches. The 
velocity determined was 5.3 feet a day, in a direction due south, mak- 
ing an angle, however, of about 45° with the direction of the surface 



54 



RATE OK MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. no. 



stream at the same point. The direction of How and ampere curve 
arc shown in fig. 4. 

The cross section of the alluvial depositsat the narrows of the Hondo 
and the San Gabriel is about L0,000 feet wide and probably docs not 
exceed 600 feet in depth. If we assume that the porosity of the under- 
flow gravel is 33 per cent and that the average velocity of the ground 
water is 1" feet a day. the resulting estimate of the amount of water 
which passes underground through the narrows is 230 second-feet, or 
Dearly four times the How of the surface streams. This is undoubtedly 
a maximum estimate, as there is no indication that the average velocity 
i.^ as high as io feet a day. Four feet a day may he assumed as a fair 
minimum value of the average velocity. This would correspond to a 
total underflow of 92 second-feet. 



1.00 






! 














0.90 






AMPERE CI 


RVE WELLS 


F&G 


' 




' 






















i 
i 

i 


i 
i 

• 


O.80 






















_> VEL.=J_ 


FT. = 


57.6 FT. PER DAY. , 




' 


1 y 3 hrs. 










C.70 




















i 




0.60 


i 
i 


o°^-~ 


.•i 














i 




1 ,°# 




Vc- 














i 




CO 

111 

£0.50 
G. 


**$ 




\ * 














i 

i 








\ 












/ 


s 

■*0.40 


V~- 


""-'' 





- -\ — . 




__Elec 


TRODE WELL 


._'9l- 


/ 
























C.30 
0.20 








n£« 


























































C.10 

























12 M. 2 P.M. 4 6 8 

«; JULY-29 — 



10 P.M. 12 2A.M. 4 6 8 10 A.M. 
-X JULY 30 > 




Fig. 32.— Diagram of velocity and direction of flow of underground water at the narrows of the 

San Gabriel River: station 3. 

The measurements established the existence of a distinct underflow 
of moderate velocity through the alluvial deposits of the narrows. In 
low stages of the surface streams the underflow probably represents a 
drainage from the upper valley in excess of that discharged by the 
surface streams. The substantial identity of the water of the under- 
flow and the water of the surface streams is proved by tests with the 
Whitney bridge, so that we may conclude that the original mountain 
stream appears at the narrows as a composite river, consisting of sur- 
face streams bordering both the east and the west bluffs of the narrows, 
together with a very wide and deep bat slowly moving underflow 
occupying the entire major trough of the valley. 



CHAPTER V. 

MEASUREMENTS OF THE I XDERFEOW AT THE NARROWS 
OF THE MOHAVE RIVER NEAR VICTOR VlXIiE, CAL.. 

CONDITIONS AT THE STATION. 

The Mohave River rises on the slope of the Sierra Madre Moun- 
tains in San Bernardino County, Cal., its headwaters flowing from 
elevations of 5,000 to 8,000 feet. After following a general north- 
erly course the stream disappears in the Mohave Desert a short dis- 
tance below Rarstow, Cal. After leaving its mountainous canyon the 
stream gradually loses water, and for a large portion of the summer 
its bed is dry for a greater part of its course on the plains. At a 
point about 16 miles north of its source the river passes through a 
narrow gorge called the " Narrows" of the river. The granite uplift 
which forms this gorge constitutes a dam that raises the underflow to 
the surface, so that within an area that extends from a point a mile 
and a half above the gorge to a point a considerably greater dis- 
tance below the gorge the stream is of perennial flow. A view 
of the narrows of the river is shown in PL IX. This gorge is just 
south of the village of Victorville, Cal., a station on the Santa Fe 
Railway. The place had been under investigation as a possible site 
for a dam by the United States Geological Survey during the season 
of 1899 and previously. Reports on this subject will be found in the 
Eighteenth Annual Report, United States Geological Survey, Part IV, 
page 708, and the Twenty-first Annual Report, United States Geological 
Survey, Part IV, page 471. The permanent diy -season flow of the 
river at the gorge varies from about 30 to 60 second-feet. On August 
15, 1902, the discharge, as measured by J. B. Lippincott, was 33 second- 
feet. Soundings have been made to bed rock at three different lines 
across the narrow part of the gorge by the United States Geological 
Survey. The positions of these cross sections are shown in fig. 33. 
The river-gage rod of the United States Geological Survey is located 
on the right bank of the river at the end of line 3. This line was 
selected as the location for the underflow measurements. . The maxi- 
mum depth to bed rock at this point is 46 feet, as is shown in the 
approximate cross section given in fig. 34. The material tilling the 
gorge and constituting the bed of it is a coarse angular granite debris 
of a size somewhat larger than buckwheat. Mechanical analysis of the 
gravel tilling the gorge is given in Table VI (p. 30). Determinations of 

55 



5C 



BATE OF MOVEMENT OF rXDKRl'JRorND WATERS. [no. 140. 



tin 1 effective size of the gravel by King's aspirator showed a mean 
diameter of 0.72 mm. The samples of gravel were taken from the 




surface material. High velocities of the underflow determined at cer- 
tain depths indicate that there are sonic streaks of coarser material. 




z t 



slighter] NARROWS OF THE MOHAVE NEAR VICTORVILLE, CAL. 57 



DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIMENTS. 

The site selected for the measurement of the underflow at the upper 
narrows of the river was in a line extending across the river at right 
angles to its main coarse, as shown in the plan given in tig. 33. The 
water in the river at this point hardly exceeded a foot in depth, but 
the water spread over the greater portion of the space between the 
banks, necessitating the construction of a small foot bridge, shown in 




''BED ROCK 

Fig. 34.-Cross section of the narrows of the Mohave River at which the underflow was measured 
This line of cross section corresponds to line 3 in the preceding diagram. The rectangles inclosing 
the figures represent the position and depth at which the underflow was measured The figures 
inclosed in the rectangles represent the velocity in feet per day at that point in the cross section. 

PI. X. Another view, PL XI, illustrates the method used in putting 
down the test wells. The double row of test wells, A, B, C, D, E, F, 
G, II, I. were driven across the river at this point as located on the 
plan shown in fig. 35. The gorge at this place is only 120 feet wide, 
and it was at first thought unnecessary to drive more than a single 
downstream well for each measurement, as it was believed that the 




PIG. 35.-Thia plan shows the position of the various test wells used in the underflow investigation, 
the principal line of test wells corresponds to line 3 of fig. 33. 

underflow must move through the gorge in a very direct course. It 
was determined, however, after first salting the upstream wells, that 
the ground waters must be moving through the gorge at this point at 
a slightly different direction from that of the surface waters, as abso- 
lutely no results could be obtained from the wells as first arranged 
Accordingly, directional wells M, X, Y, Z, U, K were driven as 



58 



RATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. >•■ no. 



1.00 

.90 












































.80 






















.70 

- .-■: 

- 

ui 

a. 
< M 
















T M 












.*o 






J 









.90 















•: 



■2 



2 3 4 5 6 

<i A.M AUGUST 18TH- -* P.M. AUGUST 1 8TH 9- 

AMPERE CURVE FOR WELL B. DEPTH 12 FEET. VELOCITY: 9.5 FEET 
PER 24 HOURS 
Fig. 36.— Diagram showing the velocity of underflow at narrows of Mohave River. Station A. 




7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 

< A.M. AUGUST 16TH. * P.M. AUGUST 16TH. - > 

AMPERE CURVE FOR WELL Y. DEPTH 8 FEET. 
VELOCITY: 52.4 FEET PER 24 HOURS 
36.0 " " " 

Fig. 37.— Diagram showing velocity of underflow at narro. ave River, station E. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 140 PL. X 



• I 







V 



*•*: 











DRIVING WELL G AT UNDERFLOW STATION AT NARROWS OF MOHAVE RIVER. 
Showing shallow character of river at this place during dry season. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 140 PL. XI 




DRIVING TEST WELLS AT U N DERFLOW STATION AT NARROWS OF MOHAVE RIVER. 
The wooden ram used weighed about 60 pounds. 



9LICHTEB.] NARROWS OF THE MOHAVE NEAR V10TORVILLE, CAL. 



59 



shown in fig. 35. In order to determine whether a variation in the 
direction was the cause of the failure to measure the underflow, some 
preliminary experiments were carried out at the position lettered E, 
test wells X and Y being driven 18 inches from the well F. After 
these wells were put in place, the well E was salted. This test turned 
out to be unsatisfactory also, but a slight rise in the electric current 
in well Y was noticed, which encouraged the belief that the direction 



1.30 



1.20 



.90 

<o 

ai 
a. 

UJ 

O- .80 
2 
< 



.70 



.60 



.50 



.40 



.30 







































































































M< 


i 




















































I 


































y 





















8 9 10 11 12 I 2 3 4 

"■ A.M. AUGUST 17TH — X- P.M. AUGUST 1 7TH > 

AMPERE CURVE FOR WELL Y. DEPTH 14 FEET. 
VELOCITY: 55 FEET PER 24 HOURS. 

Fig. 38.— Diagram showing the velocity of underflow at narrows of Mohave River, station E. 



of flow had been missed in the first test. It was surmised that the 
ground water might be moving so rapidly as not to give time for the 
electrolyte to spread sufficiently, and hence was able to pass between 
two downstream wells 18 inches apart. It was also possible that the 
direction of the flow was to the left of the new well Y. In order to 
provide for this contingency, the well X was pulled and redriven in 
the position indicated by the letter Z, 18 inches from Y. 



60 



RATE OF IfOVEMENT OF rXDEKciROrND WATEBS. [no.140. 



If it were true that the motion of the ground water of the underflow 
might be so great that the electrolyte used in well E would not have 
time to spread sufficiently so as to be certain of coming in contact with 
one of tN\o downstream wells is inches apart, it would be necessary to 
modify the method of salting E so as to cause, if possible, a wider 
path to be traversed by the electrolyte. This was finally accomplished 
by introducing into the well E, along with the dry sal ammoniac, 
about 1(> per cent caustic soda, or common soda lye. This, of course, 
brought about a reaction between the two salts in solution, ammonia 



CO 

III 

£T LOO 
III 

a. 



.2' 

























• 












































































J»M 



















































































9 10 11 12 1 2 3 * 5 6 

«-A.M. AUGUST 18THt^ P.M. AUGUST 1 8TH: — > 

AMPERE CURVE FOR WELL F. DEPTH 20 FEET. 
VELOCITY: 24 FEET PER 24 HOURS 

Fig. 39.— Diagram showing the velocity of underflow at narrows of Mohave River, station E. 

gas being liberated. It was believed that the liberation of the gas 
would cause the mixed chemicals to spread more rapidly in the ground 
waters. This later seemed to be the case, for, carrying out the experi- 
ment in this way. it was found that the electrolyte reached well Y, 
where it showed itself very strongly and just grazed well F. The 
electrode curve for well Y is shown in tig. 40. which indicated a 
velocity of ground water of about 52.4 feet for twenty-four hours. 
This velocity was several times greater than any previously deter- 
mined, which accounted foi the difficulties encountered in interpreting 
the first failure and in getting the direction of flow. After this expe- 



slichter.1 NARROWS OF THE MOHAVE NEAR VICTORVILLE, CAL. 61 



rience all of the upstream wells were salted with the same mixture of 
sal ammoniac and caustic soda, and no further difficulties were expe- 
rienced in getting the velocity and direction of flow. At the various 
stations, A, E, G, I, determinations of velocity were made at various 
depths, as is shown by numbers inclosed in rectangular lines at appro- 
priate points in the cross section, fig. 3i. The pipe casing of well D 



2.80 



2.40 



2.20 



2.00 



1.80 



CO 
Id 

<r 

UJ 1.40 
Q- 

< 

1.20 



1.00 



.80 

































































I 




































Mm 




































J 



































9 10 11 

A.M. AUGUST 17TH- 



-P.M-. 



AMPERE CURVE FOR WELL U, DEPTH 25 FT. 
VELOCITY: 96 FEET PER 24 HOURS 

Fig. 40.— Diagram showing velocity of underflow at narrows of Mohave River, station G. 

was found to be broken below the ground, and station C was on that 
account not used. 

At depths below the surface not exceeding '25 or 30 feet the gravel 
of the gorge is completely silted with line material deposited by the 
river and is, of course, impervious. At stations E, G, and I, after 



62 



RATE OF MOVEMENT <>F UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 



the well points were driven a few feet below the point at which the 
deepest measurements were made the points were completely embedded 



1.00 
CO 

UJ 
cr 

UJ 

^.90 

< 













































































fu 









































9 10 11 12 

<r-AM. AUGUST 18TH.->^ 



2 3 4 5 

P.M.-AUGUST 18TH-.-- 



AMPERE CURVE FOR WELL H.- DEPTH 30 FEET 
VELOCITY: 11.7 FEET PER 24 HOURS 

Fig. 41. — Diagram showing the velocity of underflow at the narrows of Mohave River, station G. 

in the silted gravel and no water could be drawn from the wells with 
an ordinary pump. It was therefore very plain that the underflow of 

.80 



.70 



.*0 



.10 



.«0 



.80 























/ 






















/ 












































f 






















/ 




















































































































7 i 


1 


1 1 


1 


1 1 


2 


2 


l 


- 


\ 5 


1 



-A.M. AUGUST 18TH: 



-P.M. AUGUST 18TH- 



AMPERE CURVE FOR WELL K. DEPTH 24 FEET. 
VELOCITY: 9.1 FEET PER 24 HOURS 
Fi«i. 42.— Diagram showing the velocity of underflow at the narrows of Mohave River, station I. 

the gorge was confined to a depth not exceeding about 30 feet. All 
of the velocities determined in the clear gravel of the gorge ran very 



slighter] NARROWS OF THE MOHAVE NEAR VICTORVILLE, CAL. 63 

high, three of them exceeding a velocity of 50 feet for twent} T -four 
hours. Taking Schuyler's figures for the area of the cross section of 
the gorge, 4,160 square feet, and assuming a mean velocity of ground 
water in the entire section of 50 feet for twenty-four hours, and 
estimating the porosity of the gravel at 33^ per cent, the total under- 
flow in the gorge will be found to he less than 1 second-foot. This 
must be understood to be a maximum estimate. The underflow 
probably does not exceed 300,000 gallons for twent}-four hours. 
The gradient of the water plane at and above the gorge is almost 
exactly 20 feet to the mile. 

The reproductions of photographs shown herewith illustrate the 
method of driving the wells used and show the small footbridge and 
the test wells that were put in place during- the investigation. The 
tent appearing at the left of the cut contained the instruments from 
which wires were led to the various test wells (PI. IX). 

QUALITY OF THE WATER. 

The quality of the water in the surface stream and in the underflow 
of the Mohave River at the narrows was determined by tests with the 
Whitney electrolytic bridge, and the amount of chlorine in the water 
was determined by titration. The water is remarkable as a desert 
water for its unusual softness, being very much softer than the usual 
water found in southern California, as at Los Angeles and neighboring 
points. This softness is undoubtedly due to the insoluble character of 
the granitic deposit through which the water flows after leaving its 
mountain source. It should be remembered that both the surface 
water in the stream and the underground waters at the location of the 
narrows of the Mohave River has been flowing in a ground-water 
stream for 10 or 12 miles of its course. As all of this water reaches 
the narrows by passing underground for a considerable distance, the 
results of the few tests made, given herewith in Table X, are of con- 
siderable interest. 



64 



RATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. ■•HO. 



Table X. — Quality of the water in tfo dls -it the narrows of tin 

Mohan /i'' 

ii<ls were determined with tin- Whitney electrolytic bridg 



Well. 


gust, 


Depth in 
feet 


Tempera- 
ture. !•". 


-ranee in 

oh] 


Chlorint 
per 100.000. 


Tot. 
ptS. per 100.000. 


A 


10 

10 

10 
10 
10 
15 

10 

15 


8 
12 
16 

7 
20 
20 
25 
14 

8 


72 
67 

71 
72 
70 
70 

72 

72 

67 


1. 125 
1,150 
1,275 
1,150 

1,300 
1.300 
1 ; 460 
1,250 
1,2 

1,200 




14 


B 

C 


2.51 


15 
12 


F 

G 


1.77 


13 

12 


H 

H 


1 . 25 


12 
11 


J 

Z 


1.77 


12 
12.5 


Kiver wa- 
ter 


2. 01 


13.5 









a Aug. 10. 7 a. m. 

It will be noticed that the temperature of the water from the deeper 
well- was somewhat lower than that near the surface, and the deeper 
water also appeared to be .somewhat softer. The temperature of the 
ground water- remained nearly constant at the various depth-, but the 
stream water showed very marked fluctuations in temperature, as 
would be expected in a shallow desert stream. The temperature of 
the stream water taken in the morning was always low. The temper- 
ature at 7 a. m. August 10 was 67 F.. which was the usual morning 
temperature. During the day the temperature would rise, the extent 
of the rise depending upon the character of the day. temperatures as 
high as $'2 Z being not uncommon. On cloudy days the temperature 
remained low. It will be noted from the table that the temperature 
of the surface stream was lower than the temperature of the upper 
underflow water- at night, and warmer than these waters during the 
daytime. This i- already accounted for by the fact that the surface 
water- rise from the underflow but a mile or so above the narrow-, 
the surface stream, of course, representing merely the surplus of 
underflow water- a- the ground water approaches the narrow-. 



CHAPTER VI. 

MEASUREMENTS OF THE HATE OF ODERFLOW OX LONG 

ISLAND, NEW YORK. 

CONDITIONS EXISTING AT THE STATIONS. 

The following determinations of ground- water velocities were made 
along the south side of Long Island, between the villages of Freeport 
and Massapequa. These places are located about 6 miles apart, on the 
Montauk division of the Long Island Railroad, which between these 
points runs nearly east and west and is about 1 mile north of the edge 
of the extensive salt marshes which border the Atlantic Ocean. 

Freeport is about 21 miles from Brooklyn Bridge, and Massapequa, 
6 miles east of Freeport, is within 2 miles of the western line of 
Suffolk County. 

Within the 6-mile stretch above mentioned the city of Brooklyn has 
five pumping stations, drawing water from extensive batteries of driven 
wells. The names of these stations, from the west, are: Agawam, 
Merrick, Matowa, Wantagh, and Massapequa. There is a brick con- 
duit on the north side of the right of way of the Long Island Railroad, 
into which the water from the pumping station is discharged, carrying 
the water by gravity to a pumping station at Milburn, just west of 
Freeport, where an additional lift sends the water into the cit} T of 
Brooklyn. The five driven-well plants above mentioned are used for 
auxiliary supply in the summer months, the period of use extending 
usually from July to December, but varying with the rainfall and 
other climatic conditions. 

Within the 6 miles from Freeport to Massapequa the conduit crosses 
several small surface streams, four of which have been ponded and 
their waters gated into the conduit. These surface waters flow into the 
conduit the year round, the driven wells constituting the auxiliary 
supply. 

The particular district under discussion was selected as the object 
of study because, in the first place, the region seemed t} T pical of con- 
ditions on the southern side of the island, and, secondly, because the 
ground water was substantially in normal condition, owing to the fact 
that the driven-well plants had not been operated since the previous 
December. The purpose of this work was to determine the principal 
facts concerning the underground drainage of the island, so that a pre- 
liminary basis could be secured for an estimate of the amount of 
ground water available for municipal supply. 

ikk 140—05 5 65 



66 RATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no.MD. 

The determinatioD of ground-water velocities was made at certain 
selected stations or Localities, following, in general, an east-west line. 
These stations were confined, for the most part, to the highways or 
other public lands. This restriction did not interfere materially with 
the selection of the best sites for the work. One set of stations was 
placed south of the railroad and ju-t north of the line of wells of the 
driven-well stations, it being considered of importance to measure 
velocities in the immediate neighborhood of the pumping plants both 
before and after pumping had commenced. Other stations were 
located north of the railroad and conduit, out of range of an extensive 
influence of the pumping plant-. 

The 6-mile line from Freeport to Massapequa i-. a- has been stated, 
about 1 mile distant from the edge of the tidal marshes bordering the 
Atlantic Ocean. North of this line for a distance of \) or 10 miles the 
natural surface drainage of the land is toward the south, the slope for 
nearly S miles of the distance being very uniform and in amount almost 
exactly 15 feet to the mile. This drainage plain is not only very Hat 
and unbroken, but the surface conditions are exceedingly favorable for 
the absorption of a large percentage of the rainfall. The soil for the 
most part is coarse and sandy and very porous. The slope of the water 
plain is somewhat less than that of the surface of the land, being 
approximately 10 or 1:2 feet to the mile. The underground drainage 
is in general toward the south, the main east-west underground water- 
shed probably coinciding within a mile or two with the surface water- 
shed. The average rainfall is about 41 inches, a very large portion 
of which enters the ground. 

In the localities where the test wells were bored the material was. 
for the first 30 to 4:0 feet, yellow sand and gravel, quite clean and 
uniform, but growing finer with the depth. The first 20 feet below 
the water plane seemed in every case to be of high transmission capac- 
ity, and the material below this level was usually of increasing fineness, 
finally changing into a line, dark- colored, micaceous -and. At a depth 
of 10 to 60 feet a compact layer of clayey and bog-like material was 
often met. and in driving the test well- into and through this layer 
the water rose continuously in the well- until a marked artesian head 
was developed. Immediately below this compact layer good sands 
were again encountered. 

In the report on New York'- water supply made by John R. Free- 
man in the year 1900, it is stated as probable that this layer of clayey 
material referred to above i- distributed as a wide and practically 
unbroken sheet lying 40 to 60 feet beneath the surface of the south- 
sloping drainage plain of the island. 

One of the objects of the measurement for ground-water velocities 
v«as to determine whether or not there was a considerable southerly 
movement to this water in the sands and gravels above the supposed 



sucHTER.] LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. 67 

cla}^ sheet, and to determine the order of magnitude of such a move- 
ment if it existed. Whenever there exists in any drainage area a 
body- of ground water which does not escape into the beds of surface 
streams as seepage water, but continues a seaward course through the 
sands and gravels quite independent of the surface streams, this mov- 
ing sheet of water is known as the "underflow." One of the prob- 
lems was, therefore, to determine whether or not a true underflow 
existed in this part of Long Island, and to learn something of its 
magnitude if it was found to exist. Another problem was to discover, 
if practicable, if any part of the underground drainage existed below 
the bed of clay; in other words, it was sought to determine whether 
the underground drainage consisted only of a surface zone of flow, or 
whether a deeper zone, or possibly several deeper zones of flow, were 
also present. 

In respect to the first problem above mentioned — the existence of an 
underflow — there can be no question that a true underflow of consider- 
able importance exists within a depth below the surface of 40 to 50 
feet. In practically all of the stations established a good movement 
was found to exist, having a strong southerly component, and surpris- 
ingly free, in many cases, from the influence of neighboring surface 
streams. The velocit} T near the surface, 16 to 24 feet below the 
water plane, ran as high as 5 to 12 feet per da}". At greater depths 
of 30 and 42 feet, respectively, the velocities were in each case about 
15 inches per day. At station 9 the sand was so fine at a depth of 45 
feet that it could not be prevented from running into the bottom of 
the well above the top of the well strainer so that the wells could not 
be used. 

The existence of a deep zone of flow was also established. At station 
15 clay was encountered at a depth of about 44 feet. These wells were 
driven to a depth of about 62 feet, when an artesian head of about 30 
inches developed. A measurement was then made, the screens on the 
wells being just below the impervious k/ver. A velocity of 6 feet a 
day was found to exist in a direction about 10° west of south. The 
rate of flow at the same point just above the clay was only 18 inches a 
day, so that a true "deep zone of flow" undoubtedly exists at this 
point. This result, although very important, was not surprising, as 
it had alread}" been well established by the work of Mr. A. C. Veatch 
and others, of the United States Geological Survey, that the cla} T 
layer, formerly supposed to be of wide expanse and quite unbroken, 
is, as a matter of fact, absent over considerable areas of the island, so 
that no reason exists why a part of the underground drainage should 
not exist below this impervious bed. It is strongly urged that fur- 
ther measurements below the clay be made. ^Measurements made 
some distance to the east of the present work, say, in Suffolk County, 
would be of especial value in indicating the areal extent of this deep 
zone of flow. 



68 



RATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 



The surface zone of How of the underground waters is probably 
divided into a number of drainage areas, although it is exceedingly 
doubtful if the underground drainage basins coincide very closely 
with the drainage areas of the surface streams. In general, the veloc- 
ities seemed to increase from west to east, the lowest velocities, how- 
ever, corresponding to a middle area, where the yellow gravels 
contained a quantity of tine, clay-like silt. The Wantaffh area 
seemed to have the largest underflow. It would he exceedingly 
interesting to have series of measurements extending eastward into 
Suffolk County. \*>y increasing somewhat the number of stations in 



nX 



: 



1.20 

1.00 
.80 

u 

QT.60 

UJ 

Q. 

< .40 




























































































.20 


































6 A.M. 8 



AUG. 21 

VELOCITY 6 FEET PER DAY. 



Fig. 43.— Diagram showing velocity and direction of the flow of underground water at Wantagh 
pumping station (station 2X). Velocity, G feet a day. S.40°E. This velocity was determined while 

pumps were drawing water from the wells of the driven well plant at a rate of 4,3<if>,000 gallons per 
twenty-four hours. No velocity detected when not pumping. 

the area already covered and comparing- with results from drainage 
areas in Suffolk County, a comparative study of underground drain- 
age systems would result which ought to have much value in planning 
sources of supply for Brooklyn. 

The details of the measurements are given in the reports on indi- 
vidual stations contained in Table XL The locations of the stations 
are shown in tig 57. and the curves of electrical current for the vari- 
ous stations are given in tigs. 5 and 43 to 56. 



SLICHTER.J 



LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. 

Table XI. — Underflow measurements on Long Island. 



69 



Number 
of station. 


Velocity 

ofground 

water; 
feet a day. 


Direction. 


Date, 1903. 


Depth of 

wells i t i 

feet, 


Kind of point. 


No. of 

text 

figure. 


1 


5. 5 


S. 10° E . . . 


June 21 


22 


Perforated pipe. 


5 


•> 


2 


... 


June 24.... 


22 


Do. 




2 X . . . 


6 


S. 40° E . . . 


Aug. 21 


22 


Do. 


43 


3 


2 




June 26 


22 


Do. 




4 


2 




June 27 


22 


Do. 




5 


6.4 


S. 8° W . . . 


June 29.... 


22 


Common point. 


■ 


5X1... 


5.4 


S. 8° W . . . 


July 3,4... 


22 


Do. 


44 


5 V . . . 


8.0 


S. 22° E . . . 


Aug. 19 


22 


Do. 


_ 


6 


5.0 


S.8°W... 


July 1, 2... 


34 


Do. 


45 


7 


2.6 


S 


July 5, 6... 
July9,10,ll. 


20 


Do. 


46 


8 


0.0 


s 


21.6 


Open-end point. 




8 


3.1 


X. 34° W . . 


Julv 14, 15, 
16, 17. 


21.6 


Do. 


47 


10 


2.6 


S. 37° E... 


Julv 17, 18, 
19, 20. 


28 


Common point, 


48 


11 


0.0 ' 




July 27- 
Aug. 8. 


22 


Do. 
















12 


1.07 


S. 3° E.... 


July 27- 
Aug. 1. 


27 


Open-end point. 


49 


13.. 


96. 


S 


Aug. 3, 4... 
Aug. 3,4... 


16 


Common point. 
Do. 


| 53 


13 


6.9 


S 


16 


14 


9.3 


S 


Aug. 5, 6 


17 


Do. 


50 


15 


1.53 


S 


Aug. 6, 7, 8, 
9,10. 


42 


Open-end point. 


51 


15 X... 


6.00 


S. 15° W .. 


Aug. '17, 18, 
19. 


62.5 


Do. 


52 


16 


0. 


S. 30° E . . . 


Aug. 10, 11. 


16 


Common point. 




16 X... 


77 


S. 60° E . . . 


Aug. 13, 14. 


16 


Do. 


} ■ M 














16 X... 


11.6 


S. 60° E . . . 


Aug. 13, 14. 


16 


Do. 


17 


10.6 


S. 30° W . . 


Aug. 12, 13. 


20 


Do. 


55 


18 


1 


S 


Aug. 15-21. 


62 


Open-end point, 




21 


21.3 


S. 50° E . . . 


Aug. 18, 19. 


16.5 


Common point. 


56 


22 


5.6(?) 


S. 30° E . . . 


Aug. 20, 21. 


16 


Do. 





INFLUENCE OF THE RAINFALL UPON THE RATE OF MOTION OF GROUND 

WATERS. 

An excellent opportunity was presented at one of the stations for 
noting- the influence of a heavy rain upon the velocity of ground 
waters. 

At station 5, Agawam pumping station (see tigs. 58 and 44), the 
upstream well, A. was salted at 9.45 a. in.. June 29, 1903. Between 



To 



BATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 



9 a. m. and 1 p. m. nearly 3 inches of rain fell, so t hut the heavy 
precipitation coincided with the early part of the ground-water meas- 
urements. The velocity found was *>.4 feet a day. On July 3 the 
experiment was repeated, there being no rain in the intervening time. 

The velocity found in the second trial was 5.3 feet a day. The change 
in velocity was undoubtedly due to the enormous rainfall during the 
first experiment. Part of the high velocity during the rain storm may 
be attributed to the low barometer accompanying the storm, but part 




JUNE29 10 A.M. 12 
JULY 3 12 M. 2 
AUG. 19 4 P.M. 6 



8 


10 


12 


2 


4 


6 


8 


10 


12 


2 


10 


12 


2 


4 


6 


8 


10 


12 


2 


4 


2 


4 


6 


8 


10 


12 


2 


4 


6 


8 



Fig. 44.— Diagram showing three determinations of velocity and direction of flow of underground 
water at Agawam pumping station (station 5). Normal velocity of ground water, 5.4 feet a day. 
S. 8° W. Velocity during heavy rain. G.4 feet a day, S. 22° E. Velocity while pumping from the 
lines of driven wells, 8 feet a day, S. 22° E. 

of it should be assigned to the increased head of ground-water pressure 
and to increased load carried by the soil, caused by the heavy rainfall 
upon the receiving area. 

As is shown in another place a ground waters move very much as 
electricity is conducted in a good conductor,- the most striking qualit}^ 
being an almost complete absence of true inertia in ground-water 
motions. The motion of a ma'ss of ground water, even for the highest 



a Nineteenth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 2, 1899, p. 331. 



SLICHTEK.] 



LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. 



71 



velocities, is so slow that the resistance to an accelerating ''orce repre- 
sented by the inertia of the ground water is almost nothing- when 
compared with the component of the retarding force due to the 
capillary resistance in the small pores of the sand or gravel. Actual 
computation will show that in a uniform sand of diameter of grain oi 
one-half millimeter, the ground water will reach within 1 per cent of 
its final maximum velocity due to a sudden application of pressure, 
or head, in approximately thirty seconds of time. This surprising 
result of the theory of ground-water motions receives a very striking 
verification in the increase in velocity noted during the rainstorm as 
described above. 










































































































































































































/ / 
/ / 


y 
















Elec 


trode 












_-^V 


// 


















Case 
1 





















c/>1. 

u 

Ld 



11 



-JULY 1- 



-JULY 2- 



VELOCITY 5 FEET PER DAY. 
Fk;. 45. — Diagram showing velocity and direction of flow of underground water at Agawam pumping 
station I station 6). This station is located near station 5, but wells were 12 feet deeper. 

These results have important bearings on our knowledge of ground- 
water phenomena in the neighborhood of a well. They indicate that 
tin 1 velocitvof the ground waters in the neighborhood of a well reaches 
a maximum value soon after pumping is commenced. The gradual 
formation of the cone of depression near the well shows that there 
must be a progressive augmentation of the initial velocity of the 
ground waters toward the well. Nevertheless, the rate of depression 
of the water table is so slow that the ground-water motion established 
soon after the pumping has begun is substantially the same as its 
value after prolonged pumping. These remarks have their most 



72 



RATE OF MOVEMENT <>F UNDERGROUND WATERS, [no. 14a 



important bearing upon the phenomena of the mutual interference of 
wells. The interference of one we'll with the supply of a neighboring 
well is thus seen to conic into existence almost instantaneously and 
need not wait for tin* establishment of a cone of depression of large 
area. The phenomenon of tin' cone of depression has much to do with 
the permanent supply of the well, hut has slight bearing upon the 
proper spacing of the wells or the percentage of interference of one 
well with another. 




Center line of road. 




1 P.M. 5 

* JULY 5- 



— JULY 6— - 
VELOCITY 2.6 FEET PER DAY. 



JULY 7- 



Fu}. 46. — Diagram showing velocity and direction of flow <>f underground water at Bast Meadow 
Brook arid Babylon Road (station 7). This station is a short distance above Aga warn Pond, and 
the velocity is reduced by the flat water plane due to the presence of the pond. Velocity. 2.6 feet a 
day. south. 



SEEPAGE WATERS FROM PONDS AND RESERVOIRS. 

The work on Long Island afforded some unusually good opportuni- 
ties of determining the rate of seepage below tin 1 impounding dams of 
some of the storage ponds which the Brooklyn Water Works has 
established north of the conduit line referred to in the opening pages 
of this chapter. The batteries of driven wells, which have been placed 
a few hundred feet south of nearly all of these ponds, were not used 
during the summer of 1908. as the heavy rains furnished a sufficient 
quantity of surface water, and the auxiliary supply from the wells was 
not drawn upon, a- usual, during July and AuguSt. Station ~> is below 
the Agawam Pond and somewhat within the line of seepage from the 
pond, as can be seen by consulting fig. 58. The normal velocity of 



SLICHTER.] 



LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. 



73 



ground water at this station is 5.3 feet a day. At station 7, just north 
of the pond, the velocity was 2.6 feet a day. It seems clear that the 
natural velocity at these points, if the influence of the dam and pond 
were removed, would be about -1 feet a day. The velocity at station 6, 
located but a few feet from station 5, was 5 feet a day at a depth of 34: 
feet, as compared with 5.3 feet a day at a depth of 22 feet. The dam 
has the effect of making the water table nearly level in the immediate 
neighborhood of the pond, and also of greatly augmenting the slope of 
the water table for a short distance below the pond. The lower velocity 
above the pond and the higher velocity below the pond correspond 




Pipe line 



.00 
.80 
60 
.40 

.20 








































































































































































4 P.M. 8 12 

■*-i JULY 14^ — 



8 12 

—JULY 15- 



8 12 4 

— JULY 16 



VELOCITY 3.1 FEET PER DAY 

Pig. 47. — Diagram showing velocity and direction of flow of underground water near Merrick pump- 
ing station (station 8). The ground water at this point slopes in a northerly direction toward the 
brick conduit north of the Long Island Railroad. The velocity found was 3.1 feet a day. N. 34° \Y. 
'The northerly flow at this point is undoubtedly due to seepage into the conduit. 



with these facts. When there was no flow over the waste weir of the 
dam. the flow of the small stream which rises below the dam was meas- 
ured at the bridge marked A in tig. 58. On- July 10 this flow was 1.2 
second-feet, practically all of which represented seepage water from 
the reservoir. 

A flow of 1.2 second-feet or 103,000 cubic feet a day represents an 
amount of water flowing through a bed of sand 30 feet deep and 
1,000 feet wide, at a velocity of 1 foot a day. the porosity of the 



74 



RATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 



sand supposedly being equal to one-third. The normal velocity of 
the ground water is augmented, as shown by the measurement quoted 

above, by somewhat more than 1 foot a day. The width of the lower 
end of this pond, or the length of the earthen dam. is about 1,400 feet, 
SO, basing the estimate on this minimum length and on a minimum 
depth o\' :*><> feet, an augmented velocity of 1 foot a day would give a 
minimum estimate of the seepage from the dam of 1.(5 second-feet. 
Since L.2 second feet are known to actually come to the surface to 
feed the stream below the dam, it is evident that this estimate of seep- 
age is a minimum. It seems evident that a considerable volume of 



ROAD. 




.70 
.60 


























































.50 

<n .40 

a. 
uj 

^ .30 
< 






















































































.20 














































.10 































5 P.M. 9 

«JULY 17- 



9 1 5 

—JULY 18 



15 9 15 

: JULY 19 



VELOCITY 2.6 FEET PER DAY. 
Fie 18. — Diagram showing velocity and direction of flow of underground water at Cedar Brook 
station 10). This station is above Cedar Brook Pond. The velocity is 2.6 feet a lay, B. :'>7° E. 

seepage water could be recovered by extending the line of driven 
wells of the Agawam pumping station to the east of the present termi- 
nus, a distance of 600 or 700 feet, without serious lowering of the 
water plane. 

A test well was driven in the lower south end of Agawam Poni to 
a depth of 10 feet to determine the pressure gradient of ground water 
beneath the surface of the pond. The water in this test well stood 
about 1 foot lower than the water in the pond itself, showing a slope 
of the water plane or a hydraulic gradient of 7 feet to a mile. 



SLICHTER.] 



LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. 



75 



The gradient of the water plane below the dam — that is, between the 
dam and station 5 — was 17 feet to the mile, so that the velocities to be 
compared are: 

Station 7 above pond; gradient, 7 feet per mile; velocity, 2.6 feet a day. 
Station 5 below pond; gradient, 17 feet per mile; velocity, 5 feet a day. 

These results check very favorably, especially when it be considered 
that the gradient above or north of station 7 was probably 10 or 12 
feet per mile, which would make the effective gradient at this station 
somewhat greater than 7 feet per mile. 




Grand 



Avenue 











si 






2.00 
































































1.60 
































































to 

111 

ff 1.00 

a. 

2 

< .80 




























































































































.40 












































.20 


































12 M. 12 M. 

JULY 27-* 28— 



12 M. 

-29- 



12 M. 

-* 30— 



12 M. 

-31- 



12 M. 

-AUG.1- 



12 M. 

— 2— 



^- 



12 M. 

— 3— 



VELOCITY 1.07 FEET PER DAY 
Fi<;. 49. — Diagram showing velocity and direction of the flow of underground water at Grand Avenue 
and Newbridge Brook (station 12). Velocity, 1.07 feet a day, S. 3° E. This is the lowest velocity 
determined on Long Island. 

Very striking results were obtained below the dam at the Wantagh 
Pond, where measurements were undertaken to determine the rate of 
seepage. The dam of Wantagh Pond runs parallel to the right of way 
of the Long Island Railroad, about 75 feet north of the road, and has 
an extreme length of 500 or 600 feet. About 150 feet south of the 
railroad, downstream from the reservoir, the city of Brooklyn began 
in 1903 the construction of an infiltration gallery, consisting of a 
line of 36-inch double-strength tile, laid at a depth of 16 feet below the 



76 



BATE OF MOVEMENT OF FNDFKO K<>F N I) WATERS. 



[NO. 110. 



CenteMineoijoad. 




ft .80 

ce 

Ul 

a. 

< 

-40 









































































Mjl 



































































































1 P.M. 3 5 7 9 11 1 3 5 

< AUG-5 x AUGr-6- 

VELOCITY 8.6 FEET PER DAY. 






Fig. 50. — Diagram showing velocity and direction of flow of underground water at BeUevue road 

(station 14). Velocity. 8.6 feet a day. south. 




1.40 
1.20 
1.00 

to 

UJ .80 

m 

O. 

2 .60 

< 

.40 








































































































































































.20 






















































-Aug. 6-x- 



12 M. 

Aug. 7- 



12 M. 

-Aug. 8 



12 M. 

-Aug. 9--- 



12 M. 

Aug. 10 



VELOCITY 1.53 FEET PER DAY. 



Fio. 51.— Diagram showing velocity and direction of the How of underground water at BeUevue 
road (station 16). Velocity, 1.53 feet a day. south. 



SLIGHTER.] 



LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. 



77 



water plane. It is proposed to extend this gallery for a mile east and 
west from the Wantagh pumping station. Stations 13, 16, and 17 were 
established for the purpose of measuring the normal ground-water 
velocities at the depth (16 feet) of the proposed gallery. Two of these 
stations are immediately south of the pond and in the apparent direct 
line of seepage, while station 17 is located slightly east of the edge of 
the pond and, as seems evident from fig. 59, just on the edge of the 
main influence of seepage from the ponds. The seepage velocities at 
stations 13 and 16 turned out to be enormous, the velocity at station 
13 being 96 feet a day, south, while at station 16 the velocity was 77 
feet a day, the direction being about 30° east of south, the deflection 
being toward the neighboring stream, as shown in fig. 59. These 




.50 

.40 

g .30 

tc 

l±J 

| .20 

< 

.10 






































- 






































y^ 












































































.0 











2 P.M. 6 10 

< — AUQ.17— 



2 6 10 2 

AUG. 18 

VELOCITY 6 



10 2 

AUG. 19- 



FEET PER DAY. 

Fk;. 52.— Diagram showing velocity rnd direction of the flow of underground water at Bellevue 
road (station 15 X). Velocity, 6 feet a day, S. 15° W. This station is the same as station 15, but 
measurement of velocity was made below a stratum of clay or bog material at a depth of 62.5 feet, 
20 feet deeper tban tbe measurement shown in fig. 51. 

velocities are the highest the writer has determined. They may be 
regarded as record-making rates for the horizontal motion of ground 
waters. Both measurements were made with the recording instru- 
ments, and by consulting the curves in figs. 53 and 54 it wnll be noted 
that eaeh curve has two maximum points, which must correspond 
to the velocities in two distinct layers of gravel. The secondary veloc- 
ity for station 13 was 7.4 feet a day and for station 16, 11.3 feet a day. 
A very striking verification of the fact that the high movements here 
found were due to the escape of water from the pond will be noted 
when the temperatures of the waters in the wells of these stations are 
compared with the temperatures of the water in the pond and the water 



78 



RATE OF MOVEMENT OK UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 



in wells outside of the influence of seepage from the pond. Practically 

all well water taken from wells on Long Island have temperatures 
Lying between 58 F. and 60 F. In the present case the temperature 

o\' water drawn from H. A. Russell's well. 22 feet deep, just west of 
Wantagh Pond, was 59 F. on August 8, 1903. The temperature of 
water from well I) of station IT, just cast and slightly below the pond, 
was 61.2° F. on August 11. L903. This well was 20 feet deep, the 
bottom being at the same depth as the wells of stations 13 and 16. The 




Gate house 



^ 



Gate house 



Conduit 



3 




1.20 

CO* 
111 

CE 100 
Hi 

a. 

< .80 



2 



6 P.M. 8 10 

< AUG-3- — 



AUG.-^ 



VELOCITY :(J) 96 FEET PER DAY 5(2) 6.9 FEET PER DAY. 

Fig. 53. — Diagram showing velocity and direction of the flow of underground water south of Wan- 
tagh Pond (station 13). Two velocities are shown, two different depths. The high velocity, 96 feet 
a day, is the highest yet determined. Seepage from the pond accounts for the high velocities, 96 
and 6.9 feet a day, south. Ammeter chart for this station is shown in fig. 12. 

temperature of water in the pond varies more or less, especially the 
temperature of the surface layer. The temperature of the pond water 
on August 8, a cloudy day, was 7'2.o z F.,and on Jul}' 30, a sunny day. 
it was s,) F. The temperature of water from the wells of station 13 
was 65.8° F. on July 30, and from the wells of station 16 on August 
8 was 69.5° F. These high temperatures at stations 13 and 16 show 
that a large portion of the moving ground water must come directly 
from the pond, and the rate of motion is so great that the ground 



SLICHTER.] 



LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. 



79 



water has not time to be reduced to the normal temperature of the 
ground. 

The velocity at station 17 was L0.6 feet a day in a direction 30 west 
of south. The temperature of the water was 61.5° F. The ground 
water at this point is probably not entirely free from the seepage 
water from the pond. The direction of flow, the velocity, and the 
temperature of the water all indicate, however, that a considerable 



w.iy TAGH POSD 




0)1. 00 
UJ 

cc 

UJ 

a. .80 



2 



VELOCITY: (7) 77 FEET PER DAY"; (2) 11.6 FEET PER DAY. 

Fig. 54.— Diagram showing velocity and direction of flow of underground water at Wantagh Pond 
(station 16 X). This station is near station 13, and the curve shows two distinct velocities in dif- 
ferent strata. Velocities, 77 a:ad 11.6 feet a day, S. 60° E. The stream jnst east of the station seems 
to deflect the direction of flow toward .tself. 

part of the water is the natural underflow, which at this point is 
diverted toward the lowland occupied by the streams below the pond. 
There can be no doubt but that the proposed infiltration gallery will 
intercept a large amount of seepage water from the pond, which at 
the present time runs entirely to waste. The amount of seepage in 
the first 16 feet in depth is probably somewhat less than 3 second-feet 
per 1,000 feet of length of cross section, or about 2,000,000 gallons per 
twenty-four hours. 



80 



BATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 



At station 21, Located just above Wantagh Pond, the velocity at a 
depth of 17 feet was 21.3 feet a day in a direction 60 east of south. 
This station is near the west bank of the main brook that feeds the 
pond, and the greater portion of the ground-water at this point 
percolates into the bed of the stream. The true underflow at this 
point can be found by taking the southerly component of this velocity, 
which gives L0.6 feet a day. The temperature of the ground water at 
this point was 58 F. 



WANTAGH rOSD 




Z.2U 
2.00 
1.80 
1.60 

1.40 

tO 

W 1.20 

CL 

UJ 

O. 

2 1.00 

< 

.80 
.60 

.40 
.20 


























































































































































































































































« 
















































10 A.M. 12 



4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 

-AUG.-12 * AUG.-13- 

VELOCITY 10.6 FEET PER DAY. 



Fi .. 55.— Diagram showing velocity and direction of the flow of underground water at Wantagh 
Pond (station 17). Velocity, 10.6 feet a day. S. 30° W. 

The increase of underflow rate at the Wantagh Pond from 10.(3 feet a 
day above the pond to 96 and 77 feet a day below the pond, as com- 
pared with velocities above and below Agawam Pond, 2.6 and 5.3 feet 
a day, respectively, is easily understood when the material constitut- 
ing the bottom of the ponds is inspected. The material at Agawam 
is good, the soil being tine and compact, while at Wantagh the bottom 
of the pond is very sandy, in some places having a closer resemblance 
to a filter bed than to a puddled floor. 



SLICHTEB.] 



LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. 



81 



INFLUENCE OF PUMPING UPON THE RATE OF MOTION OF (JKOUND 
WATERS NEAR SOME OF THE BROOKLYN DRIVEN -WELL STATIONS. 

Through the courtesy of Mr. I. de Verona an excellent opportunity 
was furnished the writer of making- some observations on the influence 
of pumping upon the normal rate of motion of ground waters in the 
neighborhood of some of the Brooklyn driven-well stations. For this 
special purpose the pumping stations at Agawam and Wantagh, which 
had been idle since December, 1902, were started up for two days each 
in August, 1903. Agawam was operated continuously from 7 a. m., 



Fifth telephone pole south of grist mill 

2.40 




2.20 



CO 
UJ 

0:1-20 

UJ 
Q. 

*! 1.00 











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/ 
/ 
/ 












/ / 
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M 2 ' 4 6 8 10 12 2 

< AUG. 18 * » 

VELOCITY 21.3 FEET PER DAY. 

Fig. 56. — Diagram showing velocity and direction of the Aoav of underground water (station 21). 

Velocity. 21.3 feet a day, S. 50° E. 

August 19, to 7 a. m., August ^0. At the Agawam station observa- 
tions were made at station 5 bv means of the recording instrument. 
Well A was charged at 1 p. m.. August V.K or after nine hours of con- 
tinuous pumping. After this length of time it was expected that the 
maximum rate of flow of ground water would be established, although, 
of course, the cone of depression near the wells would still be chang- 
ing quite rapidly. 

Station 5 is 3<> feet north of the intersection of the chief suction 
mains communicating with the line of driven wells and 12 feet east of 
irk 140—05 6 



82 



RATE OF M<>Y i:\llN i OF UNDERGROUND WATERS 



I 140. 



the centra] discharge main (see fig. 58). The depth of the test we3s is 
22 feet, while the depth of the 30 wells of the Agawam -tat ion system 
varies from 30 to L05 feet. 

The rate of pumping during the forty-eight-hour tesl was eery uni 
form, at an average rate of 2,250,000 gallons per twenty-four hours. 
The vacuum at the pump was maintained at l ; 4 inches, while that at 
the first well east of the engine-house was 23.2 inches. The charge 
of the centrifugal pump was dropped from 4 p. m. to 4.40 p m 




Fig. 57. — Map showing location of overflow stations, at which determinations of the rate of flow of 
underground water were made on Long Island. The Brooklyn driven-well pumping stations are 
located on the south side of the railroad and are named, from east to west, Massapequa, Wantagh, 
Matowa, Merrick, and Agawam. 

August 19, during which time the vacuum fell to 7 inches. This was 
the only interruption during the test. 

The velocity determined at station 5 during the test was 8 ft et a day 
in a direction S. 22 K. The normal velocity 'dt this station is 5.4 feet 
a day. S. 8 W., so that the influence of the pumping was to increase 
the velocity by 2.6 feet a day. or an increase of about 50 per cent (fig. 
44). The actual velocity found and the percentage of increase are both 
very moderate, and indicate that the pumping station is not making 
an unreasonable draft upon the ground-water supply at this point. 



SLIGHTER.] 



LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. 



83 



The 30 wells of the Agawam supply station have screens each 10 feet 
long, or, altogether about 730 square feet of screen. The maximum 
velocity of the ground water as it enters these screens must be 1,230 
feet a day, since the actual pumpage was 2,250,000 gallons or 300,000 
cubic feet per twenty-four hours. The mean velocity in the area (10 
by 1,500 feet cross section) immediately drawn upon b} T the wells was 
about 30 feet a day. The reduction of this rate to 2.7 feet a day rep- 
resents a ratio of reduction of 11, which could be taken care of by a 
depth of 110 feet in the water-bearing gravels, without going outside 
of the 1,500 foot east and west line of the driven wells. 

To put this in another way: the daily pumpage of 300,000 cubic feet 
of water could be supplied b\ r the normal rate of motion of the ground 




Fig. 58.— Map showing location of stations 5 and 6 with reference to Agawam pumping station and 
East Meadow Brook Pond. The surface stream was gaged at the bridge marked A. The normal 
direction of ground-water motion at station 5 was S. 8° W. During a heavy rain, and also when the 
pumps were drawing water from the lines of driven wells, the direction of flow changed to S. 22° E., 
as shown by the arrows drawn from station 5. 

water at this point (5.4 feet a day) through a cross section of 510,000 
square feet, or, say, 100 feet deep by 1 mile wide. To supply this 
amount of water, if removed from the ground on each of the three 
hundred and sixty- five days in a year would utilize 1 foot of rain- 
fall on 12 square miles of catchment area. These amounts are not 
excessive. The rate of removal of ground water at the Agawam 
station must therefore be regarded as exceedingly moderate. 

The observations at Wantagh pumping station were made on August 
21 and 22. The pumping dt this station began at 7 a. m., August 21, 
and continued forty-eight hours at the uniform rate of 1,366,000 
gallons per twenty-four hours. The water at this station is drawn 



S4 



RATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. 



I No. 110. 



from 48 driven wells, arranged on three lines of suction mains as shown 
in 6g. 59. The easl and west expanse of the two chief lines of wells is 
about L,500 feet. The wells of this station are of two different types, 
shallow wells of depth of about 24 feet and deeper wells, extending 
below an impervious bed to depths of from 60 to 112 feet. These lat- 
ter wells have an artesian head of 3 or 4 feet, and when the pumping 
plant is idle the water from the deep wells flows into the suction main 
and into the shallow wells, whence the water escapes into the sands and 
gravels of the upper zone of flow. An attempt was made on dune 24 
to measure the rate of motion of the ground water at station 2, situ- 
ated 17 feet west of the chief discharge pipe and 300 feet north of the 
intersection of the main suction pipes from the driven wells, as shown 
in fig. 59. The attempted measurement was a failure, it not being 




FIG. 59. — Map showing location of stations 2, 13. 16, and 17 near Wantagh pumping station and Wan- 
tagh Pond. The arrows indicate the directfon of flow of ground water. The flow at station 2 
was observed while pumps were drawing water from the three lines of driven wells. 

know^n at that time that the discharge from the numerous artesian wells 
wbs entering the surface layers of gravels and hence interfering with 
the normal flow in these gravels. The ground water at station 2 was, 
on account of this situation, either entirelv stationary or moving slightly 
toward the north. On August 21 well A of station 2 was charged at 
6 p. m., or after eleven hours of continuous pumping from the driven 
wells. The velocity of the ground waters observed was at the rate of 
6 feet a day in a direction 40° east of south. As this station is distant 
only 300 feet from the lines of driven wells, it is evident that the with- 
drawal of 4, 366, 000 gallons, or 582.000 cubic feet, per twenty-four 
hours has not an excessive influence on the normal rate of motion of 
the ground waters. The results at Wantagh compare very well witli 



slichter.] LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. 85 

the results at Agawam, and indicate that the driven-well plants have 
not exhausted the possibilities of ground-water developments. 

CONCLUSION. 

The very evident conclusion from observations on Long Island is 
that large amounts of ground water can still be obtained along the 
south shore of the island, especially if deep wells of large diameter 
can be successfully bored. The writer has already called attention to 
the possibility of constructing 12-inch wells of the California or 
"stovepipe" type in the unconsolidated material which extends from 
the surface to considerable depths on Long Island. Such wells, sev- 
eral hundred feet in depth, with perforations opposite the best water- 
bearing material, would utilize a large part of the underflow which 
now escapes to the sea. The practicability and success of such wells 
in this locality seems very probable, but the only way to arrive at an 
entirely satisfactory conclusion is to actually construct a test well. 



CHAPTER VII. 

TIIK SPECIFIC CAPACITY OF WEMjS. 

( ; KNE B AL PRINC1 PLES. 

The amount of water discharged or obtained from a tubular well is 
a quantity which is as rigidly dependent upon certain definite and 
measurable factors as the total horsepower of a steam engine is depend- 
ent upon the elements in its design and the pressure of steam furnished 
to the engine. Very few persons realize, however, the closeness and 
intimacy of the dependence of the yield of a well upon the various 
causes represented by the character of the water-bearing material in 
which it is constructed and the size and shape of the well itself. In 
fact, the available published data containing the results of actual tests 
of the capacity of w^ells are usually incomplete in some important par- 
ticular, so that no laws or general principles are discernible even where 
they exist. With every well, no matter what its size or method of 
construction, there can be associated a perfectly definite quantity which 
expresses the capacity of that well to furnish water. In order to add 
definite ness to well construction and well data, such a quantity should 
be applied to every well whose capacity is measured. It can conven- 
iently be designated by the term " specific capacity." By "specific 
capacity" of a well is meant the amount of water furnished under a 
standard unit head, or the amount of water furnished under unit lower- 
ing of the surface of the water in the well by pumping. This number 
can be made definite by agreeing upon the unit of measure of quantity 
of water and on the unit in which the head is to be measured. If the 
unit of yield be the "second-foot," or cubic foot of water per second 
of time, and if the hydraulic head be measured in feet of water, then 
the specific capacity of an} T well is found by dividing the number of 
second-feet by the hydraulic head. For example, if an artesian well 
flows 2 second-feet, and if the static head in the well when the water 
is not permitted to flow is equivalent to a head of 20 feet of water, 
then the specific capacity of the well is 2 divided by 20, or 0.1 second- 
foot. We describe the specific capacit} 7 by saying that the specific 
capacity of the well is 0.1 second-foot. Likewise, if we desire to speak 
of the specific capacity of a common tubular well which is not artesian 
in character, we can proceed in a similar way. For example, if the 
well yields 2 second-feet w T hen the water in the well is lowered 20 

86 



blichteb.] SPECIFIC CAPACITY OF WELLS. 87 

feet below its normal position, the specific capacity is found by divid- 
ing 2 second-feet by 20, giving a specific capacity of 0.1 second-foot. 

For the purpose of expressing the capacity of wells, the second-foot 
will be found to be a large unit of capacity, so that it will often be 
convenient to express the yield in gallons per minute, rather than in 
second -feet. One second-foot is equivalent to about 450 gallons per 
minute, so that the specific capacity of the wells above given might 
be stated as ''45 gallons per minute." Another convenient unit of 
measure for the capacity of the well is the miner's inch, the California 
miner's inch being one-fiftieth of a second-foot, and hence of a very 
convenient size for the measurement of well capacity. However, the 
different values of the miner's inch prevalent in various sections of 
the country make this unit of measure undesirable for general use. 

The importance of accurate knowledge of the specific capacit} T of 
the wells of a locality can not be overestimated. To the owner of a 
well it is very important that he know whether or not his well is 
better or poorer than neighboring wells, and whether the difference 
is due to a diversity in pumping machiner} r or to a difference in the 
well itself. To one who contemplates the construction of a well it is 
of the first importance that he know how much water he may expect 
to obtain, and in what manner it can best be obtained. In spite of 
striking examples of irregularity, it is usualh^ true that the same 
water-bearing material is very uniform in a given locality, and by 
properly designing a well one should be able to estimate in advance 
of construction the capacity of a well with a very small per cent of 
error. However, tests on existing wells and all data concerning them 
will have to be obtained and recorded with much greater accuracy and 
completeness than heretofore if this desirable result is to be realized. 

It does not count against the above statements concerning the ability^ 
to determine in advance the probable yield of a well, to find that 
neighboring wells, similarly constructed, jaeld very different amounts 
of water, or that water can not be obtained a short distance from a 
good well. Such a discovery always causes considerable comment, 
while the numerous cases in which ground water is found at very 
uniform depths and in nearly identical material call forth no comment 
whatever. 

The amount of water yielded by a common open well or by a non- 
flowing tubular well is dependent first of all upon the degree of fineness 
of the material in the various strata from which the water is obtained. 
The size of the soil grains not only controls the rate at which water 
can be transmitted to the well under a given head, but it also determines 
the proportion of contained water which the soil will freely part with. 
The fine-grained soils retain a considerable proportion of the water of 
saturation as capillary water even after free means of drainage are 
established, so that tine-grained material will not only deliver water 



SS RATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 

slowly, Imt will furnish only a small total amount. Some quicksand 
is so fine that the water can be pulled away from the fine grains with 
tin 1 greatest difficulty, while silt with a diameter of grain of about one 
one-thousandth of an inch (not at all an unusual size) will part with its 
water very slowly even when it is placed on a piece of blotting paper. 

The above factor in the specific capacity of the well can be expressed 
by means of the transmission constant, /\ of the material furnishing 
the water. Other things being equal, the yield of the well will vary 
directly with the transmission constant. 

Another cause effecting the yield of the well is the thickness of the 
water-bearing stratum. If the transmission constants of all water- 
bearing strata are the same, the amount of water available is directly 
dependent upon the thickness of strata penetrated, provided, of course, 
that only such material is counted as is in contact with a suitable 
well screen or strainer. 

An important factor in determining the yield o;f a well is the diam- 
eter of the well. By the diameter is meant the diameter of the well 
where it penetrates the water-bearing- stratum. The diameter of the 
well is a factor which determines the rate at which the water must 
move in the water-bearing material as it enters the well. A well 
Inning a large casing- will permit a given amount of water to enter 
under a low velocity, and hence with little friction in the pores of the 
water-bearing medium. The dependence of the } 7 ield upon the diam- 
eter of the well is not expressible in a very simple way. In fine mate- 
rial, the dependence of the yield upon the diameter of the well is very 
much less than is commonly supposed. Only in material that is veiy 
coarse is it usual that any great advantage is obtained by using casing 
as large as 16 to 24 inches in diameter. 

The friction of the water as it flows upward in the casing of a well, 
a factor which is often very large in the case of an artesian w T ell, is 
usually small or negligible in common tubular wells from which the 
water is pumped with a suction pipe much smaller than the diameter 
of the well itself. This statement must not be understood to imply 
that the amount of water discharged by the pump is not influenced by 
the size of the suction and discharge pipes. What is meant is that, 
with a given lowering of the water in the well the yield of water will 
not be dependent upon the friction in the casing to the upward-moving 
water, while of course the amount of power applied to the pump 
will be greatly influenced by the size of the suction and discharge pipe 
and upon the manner in which these pipes are installed. 

Finally, the specific capacity, if the well be not too shallow, varies 
directly as the distance the surface of the water in the well is lowered 
by pumping. Thus, if the water in a well is lowered 2 feet below the 
natural level by pumping from it at the rate of 20 gallons a minute, 
the same well may be expected to yield approximately 40 gallons a 



SLICHTEK.] SPECIFIC CAPACITY OF WELLS. 89 

minute if the water is lowered -± feet below the natural level. For 
shallow wells the yield will not increase in this direct ratio, but will 
be considerably less on account of the decrease in percolating- surface 
due to the lowering of the water plane in the neighborhood of the well. 
Besides the advantages just mentioned, tubular wells, owing to their 
greater depth, are much more likely to strike a vein of coarse mate- 
rial, a small stratum of which may be expected to furnish much more 
water than a considerable depth of line material. This accounts for 
the well-known superiority of deep tubular wells over common dug 
wells. 

If a well be cased through the water-bearing medium, the character 
of the screen or perforations in the casing will of course influence 
the yield of the well. If a screen is clogged, or if the perforations 
are not ample, the capacity of the well will be cut down because of 
this imperfect casing. 

All of the factors named above influence the yield of a flowing arte- 
sian well, except that in place of the distance the water is lowered by 
pumping we must substitute the static head at the point of discharge 
of the flowing water. By the static head is meant the pressure when 
the well is closed at the point at which the flow is measured. This 
static head is conveniently expressed in terms of feet of water. For 
example, instead of giving the static head in pounds per square inch 
we can state it in feet of water. The flow of water from the porous 
medium into the well will vary directly as the static head, but the total 
yield of the well will not vary in this simple way on account of the 
frictional resistance which the water suffers in flowing through the 
casing and drill hole of the well. This last component of the specific 
capacity while usually small in a well that is pumped is often of the 
very first importance in the case of a flowing* well. To the friction in 
the casing and discharge pipe should be added the influence of all turns 
and bends and reductions in size and the like. This factor is often a 
very large one in the determination of the amount of water yielded by 
an artesian well. The resistance due to friction increases very greatly 
with a decrease in the size of pipe and also with an increase in the 
length of the pipe, and is materially influenced by the curves and 
variations' in size of the pipe and by the rivets and joints in the well 
casing or discharge pipes. The friction in pipes does not vary directly 
with the hydraulic head, but approximately as the square root of the 
head at which the flow takes place. 

As stated before, complete data concerning tubular wells are very 
difficult to obtain. Complete data concerning an artesian well should 
consist of the following: First, exact dimensions of all casing and sizes 
of the bore hole, including, of course, total depth; second, the static 
head of the well measured at a point a known distance above the sur- 
face of the ground; third, an accurate measurement of the amount of 



90 



BATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. 



[No. 140. 



Wires to battery and 
ammeter -^ 



\Wires to similar 
floats below 



water yielded by the well when freely flowing under the measured 
static head; fourth, the thickness of the various water-bearing strata 
furnishing water to the well. The data for common tubular wells 
should include the following facts: First, the diameter of the well cas- 
ing; second, the depth to water: third, the depth of the well; fourth. 
the length of screen or perforations in the well; fifth, the character of 
the perforations; sixth, the amount of water obtained from the well 

under continuous pumping; seventh, 
the amount that the water in the well 
is lowered below its normal level dur- 
ing such pumping. From these facts 
the specific capacity of the well can he 
computed and many important facts 
can be determined. Additional data 
of considerable importance would he 
the following: Eighth, the distance 
the water i< raised by the pumps; 
ninth, the cost or expense of pumping. 
Complete estimate of the specific 
capacity of a tubular well can he made 
if the following data can be obtained: 
First, the amount that the water in the 4 
well is lowered below the undisturbed 
water plane: second, the rate at which 
the water rises in the well after pump- 
ing cease-: third, diameter of casing 
and of suction pipe. The determina- 
tion of the rate at which the water 
rises in the well casing requires some 
special appliances, a stop watch being 
usually a necessity. Additional appa- 
ratus for this purpose has been con- 
structed and is shown in tig. <j<». The 
apparatus consist- of a brass tube 1 

. inch in diameter containing some 
Fig. <».— Apparatus for measuring the rate of ° 

rise of water in wells. A number of floats, Small floats placed at distances 01 

as shown in the figure, are placed a lout . l } )Gut I f ()ot apar t. The apparatus 

apart in a 1-inoh brass tube. The rising r -i • 1 

water h_ the well raises the several Boats in is lowered lllto the WCll Until its lOWCl" 

torn and registers the time on an ammeter ^ micne< t j 1( . l eve ] G f water in the 

well when it is being pumped. When 
pumping ceases water in the well risesand raises in succession each Moat 
from its -eat. which in turn is indicated to the observer by the deflection 
of a needle that is controlled by electric circuit running to the several 
floats By use of a stop watch the rate at which water rises in the 
well can he determined. The manner of using the apparatus will be 
easily understood from the diagram. 




slighter.] SPECIFIC CAPACITY OF WELLS. 91 

The rate of rise of the water surface in the well after it has been 
depressed by pumping should furnish a very smooth and regular curve 
when plotted on cross-section paper. The law of this curve is such 
that if at the end of a certain period of time (say fifteen minutes) the 
depression of the water surface in the well is half of the original 
amount of depression just before pumping ceased, then at the end of 
twice that period of time (thirty minutes) the depression will be one- 
fourth of the original amount; at the end of thrice that period of time 
(forty-live minutes) it will be one-eighth of the original amount, etc. 
Four curves of rise of water in wells are given in fig. 61. Curves 3 
and J: are from the same well, but during the rise shown by 1 a neigh- 
boring well 20 feet distant was being pumped. 

The theoretical law of rise of water in a well can also be expressed 
by a formula, as follows: 

17. 25 A , h 

In this formula A is the area in square feet of the cross section of 
the well casing, counting out the area of the pump rod, suction pipe, or 
other obstruction. H is the amount in feet that the surface of the 
water in the well was depressed below its natural level just before 
pumping stopped; c is the specific capacity of the well expressed in 
gallons per minute; A is the amount in feet of depression of the 
water surface below the natural level at any time t (in minutes) after 
pumping ceased. By taking two corresponding A^alues of h and t from 
the curve of rise of water surface, the specific capacity of the well (c) 
can easil\ T be computed from the formula 

A. h 
c = 17.25 — log — gallons per minute. 
t H 

Examples of use of this formula will be given below (p. 93). The 
logarithm indicated hj "log" is the common or Briggs logarithm. 

The following reports of tests on small wells used for irrigation 
illustrate the importance of accurate tests of this kind and indicate the 
sort of information that it is desirable to secure. The first test shows 
a well-constructed plant giving fair service. The second plant shows 
a well-constructed plant, but indicates not only an inefficient style of 
pump, but showed an expensive waste of gasoline through a hidden 
leak in the feed pipe. 

TESTS. 
TEST I. OX WELL AND GASOLINE PUMPING PLANT OF D. H. LOGAN, GARDEN, KANS. 

This plant is located on the northeast corner of sec. 13, T. 24 S., 
R. 33 \Y.. and is in the northwest corner of the city of Garden. The 
outfit consists of a 0- horsepower Fairbanks, Morse & Co., horizontal 



92 RATI OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGBOTJND WATER8. [no. ho. 

gasoline engine connected by a belt to a No. 3 centrifugal pump. The 
well is constructed of a 20-inch galvanized-iron casing 32 feet Lon&r. 
perforated LO feet up from the bottom, inside of which are two 4-inch 
feeders 28 feet Long, perforated their entire length and extending- 26 
feet below the bottom of the 20-inch casino-, makings total depth of 38 
feet. The pump has been in operation since April, L902, and the 
engine since April, L903. The water was measured by the use of a 
fully contracted weir with a Length of crest of 0.66 feet. 

The engine was started at 9 o'clock, and the weir was ready for 
water at about L0.30. The water was turned on weir and the head 
read until it became constant at 1 p. m.. then height was read every 
five minutes until 2.30 p. m. In order to determine the expense of 
pumping, all of the gasoline in the reservoir was used, then 1 gallon 
was poured in and the length of the run noted to he one hour and 
thirty-two minutes, or two-thirds gallon per hour. As the engine is 
6 horsepower, this equals 0.111 gallon, or n.44~> quart of gasoline per 
horsepower hour. 

The average corrected head on the weir was found to he 0.44<> feet. 
Using the weir formula 

q=C "° V'lybU 6 - 
where ?>=.66, and c=.592, the discharge is found to be 

q= 9.6045 second-feet. 

= 272 gallons per minute. 

= 16,320 gallons per hour. 

Feet. 

Average depth to water while pumping 1 6 

Elevation of well platform. 2,835.26 feet. 

Normal depth t» i water 11. 75 

Amount lowered by pumping 6. 85 

Distance water was raised above platform 3. 5 

Total distance water was raised 22. 1 

Cost of pumping was therefore 0.9 cent per 1,000 gallons, or 
o.u406 cent per 1,000 foot-gallons (1,000 gallons raised 1 foot). 

The engine ran at a rate of 350 revolutions per minute, exploding 
143 times per minute. The diameter of engine pulley is 16 inches 
and of pump pulley 10 inches. This gives a speed somewhat less than 
560 revolutions per minute to the Dump. 

SEEPAGE AND EVAPORATION. 

The size of the pond was 10 by 60 feet, mostly covered with a green 
scum, which would decrease evaporation. As to seepage, the pond 
falls 8 inches in twelve hours at night. The pond being 2,400 square 
feet in area, the observed seepage represents a loss of 16.68 gallons 
per minute, which should he added to the capacity of pump and well, 
but not to the effective capacity for Mr. Logan. 



SLICHTKK.] 



SPECIFIC CAPACITY OF WELLS. 



93 



There is a windmill 20 feet north of the well pumped by the engine, 
a 12-foot aermotor connected to a 10-inch pump of 12-inch stroke. 
After the weir measurements were completed the windmill was thrown 
into gear. There was a brisk wind from the south and the pump 
threw a good quantity of water, but no appreciable lowering of the 
water was detected in the well being tested 20 feet away. The rise of 
the water in the well was obtained twice. 

Below are the two sets of observations: 



First trial: windmill not running. 


Second trial: windmill running. 


Minutes. 


-'(Minds. 


Stopped 
pumping. 


Minutes. 


Seconds. 


Stopped 
pumping. 




1 
1 
1 
1 
2 


55 
05 
20 
37 
55 
8 
22 
33 
48 


18.60 
16.05 
14. 55 
12.95 
12. 50 
12.35 
12. 35 
12.25 
12.15 


24 
25 
26 
27 


30 
35 
45 
48 
10 
26 
38 
48 
00 
23 
47 
58 
15 
30 




18.0 
16.5 
14.35 
13.10 
12.90 
12.55 
12.55 
12.45 
12. 25 
12. 25 
. 12. 25 
12.25 
12.25 



The curves showing the rate of rise of water in the Logan well after 
pumping ceased are given b} T curves 3 and 4: in fig. 61. The curve 4 
is the one which was produced when the Avindmill was pumping from 
a well 20 feet from the one for which the curve is drawn. The com- 
parison of this curve with curve 3, which was produced when the 
neighboring well was not used, is very interesting, showing as it does 
a less rapid rise when the neighboring well was in use. To find the 
specific capacity for the Logan well from these curves we must substi- 
tute the values of the various constants in the formula 



A 
r=17.25 y log. 



H 



gallons per minute. 



The value of A. the area of cross section of the well casing, is 2.17 
square feet, and of H, the amount the water is lowered by the pump, 
8.85 feet. The amount of depression // of the water level below the 



94 



RATE OF MOVEMENT OF U N DKK(J ROUND WATERS. [no.HO. 



natural level at any time can then be selected from the curve and the 
specific capacity readily computed. If / be taken to be forty seconds, 
or two-thirds minute, h will be found from the curve to equal 6.85 — 
5.5 = 1.35 feet, hence 

3 , /^6.85\ „ 

c= 17.25 X « X 2. 17 X log ( j ..,- ) gallons per minute. 

=39.5 gallons per minute. 

The yield of the well for the maximum depression, 6.85 feet, must 

then be 

(5.85 X 39.5 = 270 gallons per minute. 

The curve of rise of water forms one of the best methods of deter- 
mining the yield of a well. Such curves can readily be obtained. 



10 



TIME IN SECONDS FOR LOGAN WELL 
40 50 60 70 



BO 



90 




400 500 600 

TIME IN SECONDS FOR RICHTER WELL 



1000 



Fig. 61. Curves showing the rate of rise of water in the Richter and Logan wells near Garden, Kans. 
Curve 1 (dotted), first trial of Richter well: curve 2 (solid), second trial of Richter well; curve 3 
(solid), first trial of Logan well; curve 4 (dotted), second trial of Logan well. 

Well data should always include measurements of the amount of 
lowering of the water surface by the pumps, and it is only necessary 
to continue these measurements after the pumps have stopped to 
secure sufficient data to estimate the specific capacity and total yield 
of the well. This avoids the necessity of constructing a weir or other 
method of measuring the water discharged. The accuracy is sufficient 
for the purpose for which such data are used. 



blichter.] SPECIFIC CAPACITY OF WELLS. 95 

TEST II. ON WELL AND GASOLINE PUMPING PLANT OWNED BY MINNIE KKTITER, FINNEY 

COUNTY, KANS. 

This plant is located in the northwest corner of the SW. I see. 14, 
T. 24 S., R. 33 W. The upper part of this well is cased with part of 
an old standpipe from the city of Garden. The casing is 10 feet in 
diameter and extends down 20 feet. In the bottom of this part of the 
well are placed four 8-inch galvanized-iron feeders, arranged sym- 
metrically about the center. Each feeder is 25 feet long, perforated 
its entire length, and extends about 2i feet above the bottom of the 
large part of the well. 

The pump used operates on the principle of a screw propeller of a 
steamship. It bores the water out and up a square wooden penstock 
or pump shaft. There are two of these propellers, mounted one aboA'e 
the other on a vertical iron shaft inside the penstock. The top of the 
iron shaft carries the belt pulley and has a shoulder bearing which 
takes the thrust of the pump. This pump (called the Menge) is made 
in New Orleans. The pump is run by a 10-horsepower Otto gasoline 
engine, which runs at a speed of 300 revolutions per minute. The 
circumference of the drive pulley is 5.25 feet and of the driven pulley 
2. $5 feet, making the pump run at 595 revolutions per minute. The 
screws are under water when the pump is not in operation. A small 
pond was constructed at the end of the discharge trough, and a fully 
contracted rectangular weir of length of crest of 1.2 feet was used to 
measure the discharge. The measurements for head were taken 6 feet 
away from the weir, and boards were interposed between the dis- 
charge trough and weir to cut down the velocit\ T which might tend to 
give erroneous results. The average corrected head on the weir was 
0.3T1 feet. Using the weir formula 

q=cl s/2g b H*, 

and, taking e from Merriman's tables as 0.603, 

7=0.876 second-feet, 



or using Francis formula 



=394 gallons per minute, 

7=3.33 (6-0.2H)Hi, 
=314 gallons per minute. 



Using a small Price acoustic water meter in the discharge trough, 
by measuring the velocity at different places, and also by integrating, 
the discharge was found to be 0.76 second-feet =312 gallons per min- 
ute. By putting chips in the discharge trough and catching the time 
with a stop watch, the surface velocity was found to be 1.565 feet per 
second. This multiplied by 0.8 gives an average velocity of 1.25 feet 
per second and a discharge of 0.884 second-feet = 397 gallons per minute. 

An attempt was made to determine the amount of gasoline used. 
The reservoir was tilled full and the engine run for one hour and thirty- 
six minutes, or 1.6 hours. All the gasoline we had, 9i quarts, did not 



96 RATE OF MOYKMKNT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 

then fill the tank. This was a< noon, July6. Oathe morning of July 
7. 9^ quarts were required to completely fill the reservoir, a total of 
L8| quarts or 37$ pints for the run of L.6 hours tor a LO-horsepower 
engine. The makers claim that their engines use 1 pint per horse- 
power hour. 'Phis would require in this case L6 pints, or less than half 
of what was actually measured, if the engine developed its full horse- 
power, A leak in the tank or feed pipe is clearly indicated. This 
fact, while being of value to the owner of the plant, shows the record 
to be worthless as far as comparative cost of pumping is concerned. 

Two observations of the rising curve were obtained which agree 
very well. The lower part of the curve is not accurate because the 
water in the penstock drops hack into the well when pumping ceases. 

Feet. 

The elevation of the ground at well is 2, 846. 

Average elevation of water in well 2, 836. »> 

Average elevation of water in well when {tumping 2, 831. 5 

Elevation of discharge from penstock 2, 847. 

Lift 15. 5 

Average amount water is lowered 5. 3 

Number of explosions of engine, 126.5 per minute. 

The curves of rise for this well were obtained on two different occa- 
sions, and are shown as curves 1 and 2 in tig. 61. They agree very 
well. To find the specific capacity of the well from the curve, we 
note the following values of the constants in the formula for specific 
capacity: 

c = 17.25 j log , gallons per minute. 

The area, A, of cross section of the well casino- is 7b\7 ( .> square feet. 

The amount, II. that the water is lowered by the pump is 5.3 feet. 

The amount of depression, h, of the water surface below the natural 

level at any time can be selected from the curve. From the curve, at 

the close of ten minutes, h, equals 5.3 — 4 = 1.3 foot. Hence the specific 

capacity. 

76.79, 5.3 , „ 
c— 1 7.25 X in log i <> = SI gallons per minute. 

Multiplying by 5.1, the head under which pumping took place, the 
total yield of the well is 81 X 5.3 = 429.3 gallons a minute. 

The above determination of the specific capacity is inaccurate, since 
the first portion of the rising curve does not show the true rate of rise 
of water in the well. The penstock of the propeller pump holds 37.7 
cubic feet of water, which immediately returns to the well when the 
pump is stopped. This amount of wateris sufficient itself to raise the 
level in the well by 0.405 foot. For this reason only that portion of 
the rising curve should be used which is uninfluenced by the return- 



slicker.] SPECIFIC CAPACITY OF WELLS. 97 

ing water from the penstock. Thus, if we use that part of the curve 
from ^=100 seconds to t = 60Q seconds, we will eliminate the inaccurate 
portion. By this modification the data are changed to H = 3. 75 feet; 
£=1.30 feet; t=$ minute. Computing the specific capacity on this 
basis we obtain c=7S gallons per minute. This multiplied by 5.3 
gives the total estimated yield 388 gallons per minute, which checks 
more nearly with the 391 gallons per minute previously obtained. 

The area of the surface of the strainers and the bottom of the well 
is 266.5 square feet. The above specific capacity divided by 266.5 
gives .34:1 gallon per minute as the specific capacity per square foot 
of percolating surface. 

The engine ran at a speed of 300 revolutions per minute and exploded 
125 times per minute. This would indicate that it was working at 
about 83 per cent of its rated capacity. Assuming that such was the 
case, and that it would then use 83 per cent of the fuel necessaiy to 
run it at is full rated power (10 horsepower), we have 8.3 pints as the 
probable amount of gasoline used per hour by the engine during the 
test. This, at 20 cents per gallon, would make a cost of 21 cents per 
hour. This assumption makes the cost of water 0.89 cent per 1,000 
gallons, $2.90 per acre-foot, and one-seventeenth cent per 1,000 foot- 
gallons. 

irr 140—05 7 



C H A P T E R VIII. 

THE CALIFORNIA OR "STOVEPIPE" METHOD OPWELI 
CONSTRUCTION FOR AVATER SUPPLY. 

MODE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

The peculiar conditions of water supply existing in southern Cali- 
fornia have led to the development of a special type of well, which the 
writer believes to be admirably adapted to conditions found in many 
places in the various parts of the United States. It is hoped that the 
following account will call the attention of those interested in recov- 
ering ground water in large quantities to the man}' points of excellence 
of the California type of well and method of well construction. 

The valleys of southern California are tilled with deposits of moun- 
tain debris, gravels, sands, bowlders, clays, etc.. to a depth of several 
hundred feet, into which a considerable part of the run-off of the 
mountains sink. The development of irrigation upon these valleys 
soon became so extensive that it was necessary to supplement more 
and more the perennial flow of the canyon streams by ground water 
drawn from wells in the gravels. This necessity was greatly accen- 
tuated by a series of dry years, so that ground waters became a most 
valuable source of auxiliary supply for irrigation in the important citrus 
areas in southern California. The type of well that came to the front 
and developed under these circumstances is locally known as the 
" stovepipe ? ' well. It seems to suit admirably the conditions pre- 
vailing in southern California. In developing water supply for irri- 
gation the item of cost is of course much more strongly emphasized 
than in developments for municipal supply. The drillers of wells in 
California were confronted not only with a material Avhich is almost 
everywhere full of bowlders and like kinds of mountain debris, but 
also with a high cost of labor and of well casings. It was undoubtedly 
these difficulties that led to the very general adoption in California of 
the stovepipe well. 

The wells are put down in the gravel and bowlder mountain out- 
wash, or other unconsolidated material, to any of the depths common 
in other localities. One string of casing, in a favorable location, has 
been put down over 1,300 feet. The usual sizes of casings are 8, 10, 
12, 14 inches, and even larger. A common size is 12 inches. The 
well casing consists of: First, a riveted sheet steel "starter" 15 to 
98 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 140 PL. XII 




A. TWELVE-INCH STOVEPIPE STARTER. 




B. TWO LENGTHS OF STOVEPIPE CASING. 



slichter.] STOVEPIPE METHOD OF WELL CONSTRUCTION. 99 

25 feet long, made of two or three thicknesses of No. 10 sheet steel, 
with a forged steel shoe at the lower end. PI. XII, A, shows a 
starter 21 feet long, made of double No. 10 sheet steel, with a f- b} T 8- 
by 12-incb steel shoe riveted on the bottom. In ground where large 
bowlders are encountered the starters are made heavier, the shoe is 

I inch thick and 12 inches long, and three-ply instead of two-ply No. 10 
sheet steel body is used. 

Above the starter, the rest of the well casing consists of two thick- 
nesses of No. 12 sheet steel made into riveted lengths, each 2 feet long. 
One set of sections is made just enough smaller than the other so that 
one length will telescope snugly inside of the other. Each outside 
section overlaps the inside section 1 foot, so that a smooth surface 
results both outside and inside of the well when the casing is in place, 
and so that the break in the joints is always opposite the middle of a 
2-foot length. It is these short, overlapping sections which are popu- 
larly known as "stovepiping." A pile of this casing ready for use is 
shown in PL XIII, A, and two lengths are shown on a larger scale in 
PL XII, B. The sheets of steel can be taken to the field flat and the 
riveting done during the process of well construction. 

The casing is sunk by large steam machinery of the usual oil-well 
type, but with certain very important modifications. The well rig 
shown in PL XIII has a derrick with mast 10 feet high. When ready 
to move, the mast swings backward on hinges with the top resting on 
upright at the rear end of the rig, as shown in fig. 63. Jackscrews 
are placed under the sills and the whole machine is raised sufficiently 
to allow wheels to be placed on two axles bolted to the sills. The 
photograph reproduced in PL XIII also shows a 25-horsepower boiler 
mounted on separate trucks. The 10-inch sand pump and jars are 
shown just as they have been pulled out of a 12-inch well. 

In ordinary material the "sand pump" or "sand bucket" is relied 
upon to loosen and remove the material from the inside of the casing. 
The casing itself is forced down, length by length, by two or more 
hydraulic jacks, buried in the ground and anchored to two timbers 

II inches square and 16 feet long, planked over and buried in 9 or 10 
feet of soil. These jacks press upon the upper sections of the stove- 
piping by means of a suitable head. In PL XIII, B, the clevises of the 
pistons of the hydraulic jacks can be seen hooked over the ears of the 
well cap. The jacks, whose clevises appear in the cuts, have 8-inch 
piston and 1^-foot stroke, and a combined pull of about 120 tons. The 
driller, who stands at the/ front of the rig, has complete control of the 
engine, hydraulic pump, and valves by which pistons are moved up or 
down, and also of the lever which controls two clutches which cause 
tools to work up and down or to be hoisted. The hydraulic pump 
is mounted upon the main frame of derrick, as shown in PL XIV, B. 
The one shown is a Marsh pump with a steam cylinder of 8-inch 



LOO 



BATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. HO. 



diameter, and water cylinder of Lf-inch diameter with 12-inch stroke. 
It is coupled to the jacks with extra strong f-inch hydraulic pipe and 
fittings. Smaller rigs use a pump with 6^-inch steam by 1 J-inch water 
cylinders, LO-inch stroke, and coupled to jacks with &-inch pipe. A 
boiler pressure of LOO pounds puts nearly a limiting stress on the 
(-inch pipe and it sometimes breaks. 
The sand pumps used are unusually large and heavy. For 12-inch 

work they will vary in length from 12 to 16 
feet. L0| inches in diameter, and will weigh, 
with lower half of jars, from 1,100 to 1,400 
pounds. 

After the well has been forced to the re- 
quired depth, a cutting knife is lowered into 
the well and vertical slits are cut in the 
casing where desired. A record of material 
encountered in digging the well is kept, and 
the perforations are made opposite such 
water-bearing strata as may lie most advan- 
tageously drawn upon. A well 500 feet 
deep may possess 400 feet or more of screen 
if circumstances justify it. 

PL XIV. A shows the perforator for slit- 
ting stovepipe casing. Jt is handled with a 
3-inch standard pipe with f-inch standard 
pipe on the inside. The perforator is shown 
in cutting position with knife extended. 
In going down or in coming out of the well 
the weight of f-inch line holds point of knife 
up. When ready to •'stick*' the f-inch line 
is raised. By raising slowly on 2-inch line 
with hydraulic jacks, cuts are made three- 
eighths inch to three-fourths inch wide and 
6 to 12 inches long, according to the material 
at that particular depth. 

Fig. 62 shows another type of perforat- 
. ing knife. The revolving cutter punches 

perforator was used for cutting 60 » o tr 

feet of screen in the weiis shown live holes at each revolution of the wheel. 

This style of perforator is called a ** rolling 
knife." By means of this tool 60 feet of perforations were cut in the 
well shown in PI. XV. 

A great many different kinds of perforators are in use in California; 
in fact, the perforator is a favorite hobby of local inventors. The 
different patterns in use seem to work well. Those shown in the 
illustrations are very good. 




Fi<;. 62. — Roller type of perforators 

for slitting stovepipe wells. This 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 140 PL. XIII 



"r 



r 



f V 



V 




A 




CALIFORNIA WELL RIG. 
A, Side view; B, Front view, showing clevises of hydraulic jacks hooked over ears of well gap. 



slichter.] STOVEPIPE METHOD OF WELL CONSTKUCTION. 101 

ADVANTAGES OF " STOVEPIPE " CONSTRUCTION. 

The advantages of this method of well construction are quite obvious. 
For wells in unconsolidated material the California type is undoubt- 
edly the best yet devised. It is believed that wells of this type would 
be highly successful in the unconsolidated deposits in other localities. 
The absence of bowlders and very coarse gravels in some deposits may 
possibly make it more advantageous to use the hydraulic jet instead of 
the ponderous sand bucket in soft material, but this is the only modi- 
fication that these conditions seem to suggest." 

Among the special advantages in the stovepipe construction may 
be enumerated the following: 

I. The absence of screw joints liable to break and give out. 

'2. The flush outer surface of the casing without couplings to catch 
on bowlders or hang in clay. 

3. The elastic character of the casing, permitting it to adjust itself 
in direction and otherwise to dangerous stresses, to obstacles, etc. 

4. The absence of screen or perforation in any part of the casing 
when first put down, permitting the easy use of sand pump and the 
penetration of quicksand, etc., without loss of well. 

5. The cheapness of large-size casings because made of riveted sheet 
steel. 

6. The advantage of short sections, permitting use of hydraulic jacks 
in forcing casing into the ground. 

7. The ability to perforate the casing at any level at pleasure is a 
decided advantage over other construction. Deep wells with much 
screen may thus be heaviry drawn upon with little loss of suction head. 

8. The character of the perforations made by the cutting knife are 
the best possible for the delivery of water and avoidance of clogging. 
The large side of the perforation is inward, so that the casing is not 
likely to clog with silt and debris 

9. The large size of casing possible in this system permits a well to 
be put down in bowlder wash where a common well could not possibly 
be driven. 

10. The uniform pressure exerted by the hydraulic jacks is a great 
advantage in safety and in convenience and speed over any system 
that relies upon the driving of the casing by a weight or ram. 

II. The cost of construction is kept at a minimum b} T the limited 
amount of labor required to man the rig as well as by the good rate 
of progress possible in what would be considered in many places 
impossible material to drive in, and by the cheap form of casing. 

COST OF CONSTRUCTION. 

An idea of the cost of construction of these wells can best be given 
by quoting actual prices on some recent construction in California. 

a A 12-inch stovepipe well was sunk to a depth of 2,800 feet on tne Lanoria Mesa, 7 miles northeast 
of El Paso, Tex. The last 2,000 feet was drilled in dry clay by use of a powerful hydraulic jet. 



L02 



RATE OF MOVEMENT OF CTNDERGROUND WATERS. wo. 140. 



According to contracts recently let near Los Angeles the cost of 
12-inch wells was 50 cents per foot for the tirst LOO feet and 25 cents 
additional per foot for each succeeding 50 feet, casino- to be furnished 
free. This makes the cost of a 500-foo< well $700 in addition to casino-. 
The usual type of L2-gage, double, stovepipe casing is about $1.05 a 
toot, with $40 for 12-foot starter with three-fourths by 8-inch steel 
ring or shoe. The pay of a good driller is $5 a day, of helpers $2.50 
a day. The cost of drilling will run higher than that given above in 
localities where large and numerous bowlders are encountered. 

WELL RIGS. 

Pis. XIII and XIV, Z?, show a new rig of very excellent type owned 
by Mr. E. W. Riggle. Los Angeles, Cal. The drillers build their own 



Q=mf 




/ BOILER IS ON A SEPARATE WAGON 



y 



Fig. 63.— Plan and elevation of derrick for California well rig. 

rigs according to their own ideas, so that no two rigs are exactly alike — 
that is, the drillers pick out the castings and working parts and mount 
them according to ideas that experience has taught them are the best 
for the wash formations in which they must work. A scale drawing 
of derrick is shown in fig. 63. 

In PI. XV is shown another excellent California rig owned by 
Mr. J. B. Proctor, of Compton, Los Angeles County. As it appears 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 140 PL. XIV 




A. PERFORATOR FOR SLITTING STOVEPIPE CASING. 




B. REAR VIEW OF CALIFORNIA WELL RIG. 

Showing engine and hydraulic pump. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 140 PL. XV 




CALIFORNIA WELL RIG AFTER COMPLETING 12-INCH WELL FLOWING 5,250,000 
GALLONS PER TWENTY-FOUR HOURS. 



slichter.J STOVEPIPE METHOD OF WELL CONSTRUCTION. 103 

in the cut it has just finished a 12-inch well which flows 404 miners 
inches, or about 5,250,000 gallons per twenty-four hours. This well 
is 848 feet deep and has about 60 feet of perforations. Mr. Proctor 
used four h} T draulic jacks in sinking this well, developing a pressure 
of 160 to 200 tons. 

YIELD OF WELLS. 

It is not very profitable to name individual wells of this type and 
give their yield, since conditions vary so much from place to place. 
From the method of construction it must be evident that this type of 
well is designed to give the very maximum yield, as every water- 
bearing stratum can be drawn upon. The yield from a number of 
wells in California of average depth of about 250 feet, pumped b} T cen- 
trifugal pumps, varied from about 25 to 150 miner's inches, or from 
300,000 to 2,000,000 gallons a day. These are actual measured yields 
of water used for irrigation. 

Among the very best flowing wells in southern California are those 
near Long Beach. The Boughton well, the Bixby wells, and the wells 
of the Sea Side Water Company are 12-inch wells varying from 500 to 
700 feet in depth and flowing about 250 miner's inches each, or over 
3,000,000 gallons per twenty-four hours. The well shown in PL XV 
is located about 4 miles northeast of Long Beach and its flow is the 
greatest yet reported. 

Among the records of depth are those of 1,360 feet for 10-inch well 
and 915 feet for 12-inch well. Mr. Proctor has bored a 14-inch well 
more than 704 feet in depth. 



CHAPTER IX. 
TESTS OF TYPICAL PUMPING PLANTS. 

In connection with the general discussion of movement of under- 
ground waters it has been thought that a few descriptions of charac- 
teristic tests of pumping plants would be of interest and value. With 
this idea in view a number of typical plants, including several different 
classes, have been selected from the large number examined and 
descriptions of the tests prepared. 

The Felix Martinez pumping plant is run by electric power and 
gives a good chance to see what can be done with combination of 
centrifugal pump and electric motor in the recovery of water for irri- 
gation. The pumping plant of J. A. Smith is of special interest on 
account of a very low cost of power, due to the use of petroleum gas 
generated from crude oil. The test of Roualt's pumping plant is of 
great interest on account of the use of steam engine with wood as fuel. 
The wood was obtained at a ven^ low price per cord, } T et the showing 
in the cost per acre-foot will not compare with the plants that use 
gasoline engines with gasoline at 17 cents a gallon. The last pumping 
plant reported upon, that of the Horaco Ranch Company's well No. 1, 
is of special interest on account of the all-around excellence and effi- 
ciency of the plant. The table that is inclosed summarizes the results 
at all of the plants and gives items of cost. 

TEST OF PUMPING PLANT OF FELIX MARTINEZ NEAR EL PASO, TEX. 

The pumping plant on the ranch of Mr. Felix Martinez, of which a 
test was made, is located near the main county road east of El Paso, 
about 3 miles from the court-house. The plant consists of a No. 5 
Byron Jackson horizontal-shaft centrifugal pump, run by a General 
Electric 10-horsepower direct-current motor, type C. E., class 4. The 
pump is located in a pit, and is connected to a 6-inch well. The well 
is 68 feet deep, measured from the surface of the ground, and has 10 
feet of perforated or slotted galvanized-iron strainer at the bottom. 
The gravels were reached at a depth of 56 feet, and consisted of fairly 
large gravel, containing a large quantity of fine sand. The pump is 
connected with the well b^a 5-inch suction pipe and discharges through 
a vertical and horizontal 5-inch discharge pipe into a rectangular 
mime. The discharge was measured by integrating with a Price acous- 
104 



BLICHTER.] 



TESTS OF TYPICAL PUMPING PLANTS. 



105 



tic current meter in the rectangular flume. The average depth of 
water at the cross section of flume where measurements were taken 
was 0.475 foot. The average width of flume was 0.992 foot, giving an 
area of 0.470 foot. The mean velocity of the water at the selected 



10 HP electric motor 




Fig. 64.— Conditions at pumping plant of Felix Martinez near El Paso, Tex. 

cross section was 1.78 feet per second, giving total discharge of 0.838 
cubic foot per second, or 378 gallons a minute. 

The vacuum gage was attached to the goose neck of the centrifugal 
pump. The vacuum shown after a few minutes pumping was 18 



106 RATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. |n<>. 140. 

inches, but it gradually fell to 24. i inches at the close of the first half 
hour, where it remained constant during the next hour. The vacuum, 
when corrected for altitude, is equivalent to 22. 5 inches of mercury, 
or 25.5 I'eet of water. 

The elevation of the water plane on August 29, L904, was 3,643.13 
feet above sea level. The elevation of tap of vacuum gage was 3,640.47 
feet. The elevation of top of discharge pipe was 3,659.90 feet. The 
total lift is, therefore. 38.93 feet, and the amount the water level in 
the well was lowered by pumping was 22.16 feet. From this the spe- 
cific capacity of tin 4 well can be determined to be 17.5 gallons a min- 
ute. The area of the well strainer is 14.4 square feet, from which we 
conclude that the specific capacity for each square foot of well screen 
was 1.21 gallons a minute. 

The amount of electric current used during the pumping was deter- 
mined by means of a Westinghouse watt meter. The current used in 
one hour's test (average speed of motor, 1,485 revolutions a minute) 
was 4,950 watts. The speed of the pump was 1,028 revolutions a 
minute. The pulley dimensions are as follows: Pulley on motor, 7i 
inches diameter; driven pulley on countershaft, 24 inches; driving- 
pulley on countershaft, 14 inches; pulley on pump shaft, 6 inches. 

The horsepower actual!}' used at the plant is the equivalent of 4,950 
watts, or 6.64 horsepower. The power represented by the discharge 
of 0.838 second-foot of water lifted 38.93 feet, is equivalent to 2,030 
foot-pounds per second, which is equal to 3.7 effective horsepower. 
Comparing the applied horsepower, 6.64, with the effective horse- 
power, 3.7, the total efficiency of the plant is found to be 55.5 per 
cent. The duty of the plant can be found by comparing 4,950 watts, 
the electrical energy consumed in one hour, with 655,200 foot-gallons, 
the work done b\ T the pump in one hour. The resulting duty is 
132,400 foot-gallons of water per kilow r att hour of electric current. 

At 5 cents per kilowatt per hour, the cost of power for raising the 
water at the Martinez plant was one twenty T -seventh of a cent for each 
1,000 gallons of water raised 1 foot, or $3.43 for each acre-foot of 
water recovered. The labor cost being very small in an electrically 
driven plant, the total cost per acre-foot, including depreciation, 
interest, labor, etc., did not exceed $5.75 per acre-foot. 

TEST OF PUMPING PLANTS OF J. A. SMITH, NEAR EL PASO, TEX. 

The pumping plants of J. A. Smith are located 8 miles east of El 
Paso. Tex., near the right of way of the Southern Pacific Railroad. 
There are tw T o plants on the same ranch. At the first or older plant 
there are three wells arranged in a row, 40 feet apart. The pump pit 
is over the middle well, which is an 8-inch well, 62 feet deep, measured 
from the top of the ground. Fine sand and quicksand were encoun- 
tered in sinking this well until a depth of 50 feet was reached, where 



SLIGHTER.] 



TESTS OF TYPICAL PUMPING PLANTS. 



107 



coarse gravel containing much liue material was encountered. There 
was only 12 feet of this coarse gravel. Ten feet of slotted galvanized- 
iron strainer with hit-and-miss slits was placed at the bottom of this 
well. The east well is 6 inches in diameter and 73 feet deep. The 
gravel at this point was found to be 22 feet deep. A 16-foot slotted 
strainer was used in this well. The west well is also a 6-inch well and 
is 61 feet deep. The gravel was found to be 11 feet deep, and a 10- 
foot slotted strainer was used in the well. All of the strainers have 
T 3 e-inch by lj-inch slots, or perforations. The horizontal 8-inch suc- 
tion pipe, which extends from the central well to the east and west 
wells, is 14 feet below the top of the ground. 



28 H. P. gas engine 






W?M 




Fig. 65.— Conditions of pumping plant of J. A. Smith, near El Paso, Tex. 

The water is pumped by a No. 6 Fairbanks-Morse horizontal- shaft 
centrifugal pump, connected with rope drive to a 28-horsepower gaso- 
line engine, with crude oil gas generator attached. The fact that the 
engine is run by producer gas generated from Texas crude petroleum 
renders this plant of especial interest. The fuel cost relative to the 
amount of water recovered is the lowest that the writer has recorded 
for a small plant. The crude oil gas generator has been in operation 
several months, running continuously day and night, except for a clean- 
ing each week or two. When the generator is kept clean there is little 
trouble from carbon passing from the generator into the cylinder of 
the engine and cutting out the cylinder and packing. The plant must 
be pronounced a decided success, as the further account to be given 



108 BATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 

will show. The speed of the engine was L59, and of the pump 544 
revolutions a minute. 

Tin" discharge was measured by integrating with a Price acoustic 
current meter in a rectangular flume. The average depth of the water 

at the selected cross section was 0.53 foot, and the average width was 
L.87 feet, giving an effective cross section of 0.992 square foot. The 
average velocity of the water at this cross section was found to he 
2.085 feet per second, giving a discharge of 2.<>7;> second-feet or 934 
gallons a minute. This measurement of discharge was made after 
three months of continuous pumping day and night. The elevation of 
the vacuum-gage tap was 3,631.06, and it was located 1.917 feet above 
the top of horizontal suction pipe. The elevation of the water plane 
on September 8, 1904, was 3,624.60, and the elevation of the middle of 
the 8-inch opening in the tee in the side of vertical discharge pipe, 
from which the water enters a horizontal wooden flume, was 3,645.05. 
The vacuum read 22 inches, or 20 inches of mercury when corrected 
for altitude, which is equivalent to 2'2.7 feet of water. The total lift 
is therefore 36. T feet. The water is lowered in the wells 16.24 feet 
by pumping, which gives a specific capacity for the three wells of 57.4 
gallons a mi-nute. The total area of surface of the strainers in all of 
the wells is 56.7 square feet, from which we can deduce a specific 
capacity of 1.01 gallons a minute for each square foot of strainer. 

Several accurate tests of the amount of fuel consumed at this plant 
have been made. One test was made by the manufacturers of the 
gas generator, and, consequently, the consumption of crude oil appears 
at a minimum in this test. This test lasted seventy-four hours and 
fifteen minutes. The amount of crude oil consumed was 241 gallons. 
or 3.24 gallons per hour. At 3 cents a gallon this makes the cost for 
oil $2.34 per day of twenty -four hours. The cost for each 1,000 gal- 
lons of water recovered was therefore If mills, or ten fifty-sevenths 
of a cent. This is at the rate of 57 cents per acre-foot of water. The 
lift being 37 feet, this makes the cost of 1,000 gallons lifted 1 foot 
(1,000 " foot-gallons r ') one two hundred and tenth of a cent. 

Another experimental test of the plant was made when the engine 
was in charge of the regular help employed on the ranch. No effort 
was made to save oil or make a record, everything being managed 
exactly as it was during several months of pumping for irrigation. 
The test was for forty and one-half hours, extending over four con- 
secutive days of about ten working hours each. The amount of crude 
oil used was 163.5 gallons, or 97 gallons per twenty-four hours, or 
4.03 gallons per hour. This represents, therefore, the actual rate at 
which oil was consumed during the irrigation season. The cost is 
$2.90 per twenty-four hours, or 12 cents per hour. The cost of fuel 
for each 1,000 gallons of water delivered was ten forty-sixths of a cent. 



si.rhtkk] TESTS OF TYPICAL PUMPING PLANTS. 109 

and the cost of 1,000 foot-gallons was one one hundred and seventy- 
first of a cent. 

The cost of the water at the same plant, when pumped with gasoline, 
was also determined. A test of eleven hours' run with same engine, 
using gasoline instead of crude oil gas, consumed 40 gallons of gaso- 
line, or 3.64 gallons per hour. At 14 cents a gallon, the hourly cost 
for gasoline was $0.51, which makes the cost of each 1,000 gallons of 
water pumped $0.0092. The cost per 1,000 foot-gallons was $0.000236, 
or one forty-second of a cent. 

The above estimates do not represent, of course, the total cost of 
pumping, as no items have been included to cover interest, deprecia- 
tion, labor, etc. 

The 926 gallons a minute furnished by the above plant amounts to a 
little over 2 second-feet, or 1 acre-feet per twenty-four hours. The 
cost of fuel per acre-foot of water was, therefore, 73 cents when using 
crude oil, and $2.99 an acre-foot when using gasoline at 14 cents a 
gallon. 

TEST OF ROUAI/TS PUMPING PLANT NEAR LAS CRUCES, N. MEX. 

A test was made at the pumping plant of Theodore Roualt, located 
on a ranch about 3 miles northwest of Las Cruces, N. Mex. Water 
is obtained from a 10-inch well, 48 feet deep, containing 10 feet of 
9f-inch slotted galvanized-iron strainer. Water is recovered by a No. 
3 Van Wie vertical-shaft centrifugal pump, driven b} T a 10-horsepower 
Xagle steam engine, on 18-horsepower horizontal Avood-burning boiler. 
The engine is directly belted to pump shaft by means of 30-inch driv- 
ing and 12-inch driven pulley. The water is discharged through an 
8-inch vertical discharge pipe into a rectangular flume. 

The speed of engine was 205 revolutions per minute, and that of the 
pump was 525. The steam pressure varied between 81 and 83 pounds. 
The distance from vacuum-gage tap to the water plane was 3.64 feet. 
The distance of vacuum-gage tap to top of bottom plank of flume was 
7.96 feet, and from tap to top of water jet the distance was 8.66 feet. 

The vacuum gage read 24.25 inches, which is equivalent, when cor- 
rected for altitude, to 22.25 inches of mercuiy, or 25.5 feet of water, 
making the total lift 34.16 feet. The discharge was measured by 
integrating with a Price acoustic current meter in the rectangular 
flume. The width of flume was 1.19 feet and the average depth of 
water at the selected cross section was 0.35 foot, giving a cross section 
of 0.417 square foot. 

The average velocity of the water at the selected cross section was 
1.867 feet per second, which gives a discharge of 0.78 second-foot, or 
351 gallons a minute. From this we deduce the specific capacity of 
the well to be 16.3 gallons a minute, and the specific capacity for each 
square foot of well strainer is 0.627 gallon a minute. 



110 



RATE OF MOVEMENT <>F IWDKRGRorNI) WATERS. 



[NO. 140. 



The cosl of fuel used for pumping can be readily estimated from 
careful tests by Mr. Roualt For one irrigation of a 70-aere Held of 
tomatoes, twenty-eight days of twenty-four hours were required, and 



-\I0H.P. steam eng/ne 




Fig. 66.— Conditions at pumping plant of Theodore Roualt near I. X. Mex. 

l'< cords of cottonwood were consumed by the engine, costing S:2 per 
cord. During the twenty-eight days of twenty-four working hours 
each. L4,150,Q00 gallons, or 43.5 acre-feet, of water were pumped. 



BLICHTER.] 



TESTS OF TYPICAL PUMPING- PLANTS. 



Ill 



The total cost of wood being $120, the fuel cost per 1,000 gallons of 
water recovered was $1.06, or $3.45 per acre-foot. The fuel cost per 
1,000 foot-gallons was $0.00031, or about one thirty-second of a cent. 



12 H.P.gaso/ine engine 



Wooden f/ume 




Fig. 67.— Conditions at Horaco Ranch Company's well No. 1, at Berino, X. Mex. 
TEST OF HORACO RANCH COMPANY :s WELL NO. 1, BERINO. N. MEX. 

Well No. 1 of the Horaco Ranch Comparry, at Berino, N. Mex. , is 
75 feet deep, constructed with 9f-inch casing, with 18 feet of Mott 
strainer. Water is delivered through a Tf-inch vertical discharge- 



112 BATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 140. 

pipe opening into a horizontal wooden flume. Water is recovered by 
a No. 5 Byron Jackson horizontal-shaft centrifugal pump, driven by 
a 1 ^-horsepower Weber gasoline engine. The engine was run at a 
speed of 238 revolutions a minute, the number of explosions being 
106 a minute. 'Pin 1 speed of the pump was 815 revolutions a minute, 
it being belted directly to the engine from a 24-inch driving and a 
7-inch driven pulley. 

The distance from vacuum-gage tap to the water plane on Septem- 
ber 11. 1904, was 0.43 foot. The distance of vacuum-gage tap to top 
of ground was 7.1 feet, and from tap to the end of vertical discharge 
pipe was 8.95 feet. To this may be added 0.762 foot, the height of 
water jet above the end of discharge pipe, to obtain the total lift 
above the vacuum-gage tap. The vacuum gage read 14.5, which, 
when corrected for altitude, is equivalent to 12.5 inches of mercury, 
or 14.18 feet of water. The total lift of the pump was, therefore, 
23.89 feet. 

The discharge was measured by integrating with a Price acoustic 
current meter in the rectangular flume. At the selected cross section 
the average depth of the water was 0.278 foot, and the average width 
was 1.42 feet, giving an area of cross section of 0.395 square foot. 
The average velocity of the water at the selected cross section was 
4.7<>7 feet per second, from which we conclude that the discharge was 
1.86 second-feet, or 837 gallons a minute. 

The water level in the well was lowered 13.75 feet during pumping, 
and therefore the specific capacity of the well is 60.8 gallons a minute, 
or 1.69 gallons a minute for each square foot of well strainer. 

Although the amount of water recovered at well No. 1 is ve im- 
materially greater than at well No. 3, the cost for fuel is substantially 
the same. The amount of gasoline consumed is slightly less than 1.2 
gallons an hour, which at 17 cents a gallon makes the hourly cost 20 
cents. The amount of water recovered being 837 gallons a minute, 
or 50,220 gallons an hour, the fuel cost for each 1,000 gallons of wearer 
was so. 004, or $1.30 per acre-foot of water recovered. The lift at 
well No. 1 being 23.89 feet, the cost of fuel for each 1,000 foot-gallons 
was so. 000167, or one-sixtieth of a cent. 

SUMMARY OF RESULTS OF TESTS OF PUMPING PLANTS IN THE VALLEY 
OF THE RIO GRANDE IN LOWER PART OF NEW MEXICO AM) WEST- 
ERN END OF TEXAS. 

The accompanying table shows the results of tests of a number of 
pumping plants used for irrigation, and situated in the valley of the 
Rio Grande in the lower part of New Mexico and the western end of 
Texas. Most of the entries on the table explain themselves. Under 
the heading "Location" is given the nearest post-office to the ranch 
on which the pumping plants are located. The first three pumping 



slighter.] TESTS OF TYPICAL PUMPING PLANTS. 113 

plants, those of Felix Martinez, AY. N. French, and E. J. Hadlock, 
are located about 3 miles east of El Paso, Tex. The plants of J. A. 
Smith and J. S. Porcher are located in the valley of the Rio Grande 
aboiit 8 miles east of El Paso, Tex. The pumping plants of Barker, 
Boyer, Burke, Carrera, Hager, Hines, Roualt, Totten. and the Agri- 
cultural College are located in the valley of the Rio Grande in the 
neighborhood of Las Cruces, N. Mex. The pumping plants of the 
Horaco Ranch Company are located near the post-office of Berino, 
N. Mex., which is situated 21 miles north of El Paso and 17 miles 
south of Las Cruces. 

The fuel used in most of these pumping plants is gasoline, which 
term as here used includes the "distillate" manufactured from Texas 
crude oil, which is extensively used for fuel purposes. Its caloric value 
is somewhat less than that of the gasoline used in the Eastern States. 

DETERMINATION OF VACUUM. 

In all of the pumping plants except the one of E. J. Hadlock water 
was recovered by means of centrifugal pumps, which in nearly all 
cases were directly coupled to the top of the well casings. In order 
to determine the suction of the pumps, it was necessary to drill a hole 
in the goose neck of the centrifugal pumps and insert the vacuum 
gage. The measurements to determine the distance the pumps were 
required to lift the water were made from this vacuum-gage tap as 
datum in all cases. In column 6 is given the distance the pump is 
required to lift the water above the vacuum-gage tap. In column 7 
the vacuum reading is given in feet of water. Therefore the total 
lift of the pump can be found in each case by adding the cor- 
responding numbers in columns 6 and 7. In column 8 is given the 
distance that the natural level of the water in the well is lowered during 
pumping. If the vacuum gage had been placed at the exact level of 
the undisturbed ground water, the readings in column 8 would be 
identical with those in column 7. The numbers in column 8 are less 
than those in column 7, because in all cases the vacuum gage stood 
some distance above the natural level of the water in the well. 

SPECIFIC CAPACITY. 

The numbers in column 11 express the readiness with which the 
well furnishes water to the pump. The numbers in each case were 
found by dividing the numbers in column 10 by the corresponding 
numbers in column 8. These numbers therefore express the amount 
of water the well would furnish if the water level in the well was 
lowered but 1 foot. They constitute what is known as the '•specific 
capacity " of the well, and are large in case of a good well and small in 
case of a poor well. (See Chapter VII.) 

In column 12 there are given the same magnitudes as are expressed 
in column 11, reduced in each case to 1 square foot of well strainer. 

ikr 140—05 8 



114 



BATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATP:RS. [no. 140, 





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TESTS OF TYPICAL PUMPING PLANTS. 



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L16 KATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no. 14a 

The numbers in this column, therefore, express the amount of water 
in gallons per minute furnished by 1 square foot of well strainer 
under a head of 1 foot of water. They are a numerical expression of 
the degree of coarseness of the material in which the well is placed. 

COST WD OPERATING EXPENSES. 

In column 13 are given the costs of the various plants expressed 
in round numbers. These are in most eases an estimate at the rate of 
*!(»<> per horsepower for the total cost of engine, pump, and wells. 
In a tew special cases the cost is at a higher rate than the above. In 
estimating the expense of operating the various plants, the depreci- 
ation in the total value of the plant has been taken at 10 per cent, and 
the rate of interest at 8 per cent. It is difficult to make an accurate 
estimate of the amount of cost that should be charged up to the water 
recovered by an irrigation plant, on account of the presence of several 
unknown factors. If the plants were in operation every da} T in the 
year it would be relatively easy to make an accurate estimate of these 
factors in the operating expense. As it is, the plants are in operation 
for a longer or shorter period, depending upon circumstances, which 
vary from year to year. Most of the plants are used merely as an 
auxiliary to the supply of ditch water. In making the estimate of the 
charge for interest and depreciation it has been assumed that the plants 
are in operation for two thousand hours each season. This corre- 
sponds to a continuous twenty-four hours' daily use for three months, 
or two hundred days of ten hours each, and probably represents a 
fair average of the actual conditions. 

In column 15 there is given a charge for labor and other expenses, 
including oil, batteries, and such other incidental expenses as are not 
properly included under the head of depreciation. The operation of 
the gasoline plants can easily be put in charge of unskilled labor, and 
for the smaller plants full time is not required of such labor. 



FUEL COST. 



That part of the operating expenses which is properly chargeable to 
fuel cost can be accurately determined. Column 16 expresses the cost 
for fuel per hour at the various plants. Column 18 expresses the cost 
per acre-foot of water recovered. In column 17 there is given the 
cost of fuel for lifting 1,000 gallons of water through a distance of 
1 foot. For the purpose of comparison the results are expressed in 
fractional parts of a cent. 

In column 5 is given the price of fuel. The price of gasoline is given 
in cents per gallon in barrel lots. The price of electricity is given in 
cents per kilowatt hour. Cost of wood at the ranch of T. Roualt is 
the cost of cottonwood per cord. The price of wood at the Agricul- 
tural College of $2.25 per cord is the rate for small Tornillo wood, 
which has a higher caloric value than the cottonwood used by Roualt. 



SLIGHTER.] 



TESTS OF TYPICAL PUMPING PLANTS. 



117 



COMMENTS OX THE RIO GRANDE PUMPING PLANTS. 

The pumping plants of Martinez, French, Hadlock, Smith, and 
Porcher are all located in the bottom lands of the Rio Grande from 3 
to 8 miles east of El Paso, Tex. From column 12 of the table it will 
be seen that the specific capacities of these wells per square foot of 
well strainer are nearly the same at the plants of Martinez, French, 
Smith No. 2, and Porcher, varying only between 1.21 gallons a minute 
at Martinez's well to 1.37 at French's well. These numbers, it should 
be remembered, give the amount of water furnished by each square 
foot of well strainer for 1 foot head of water. The numbers express, 
therefore, the degree of coarseness of the material in which the 
strainer is placed, provided, of course, that the well strainers them- 
selves offer little or no resistance to the admission of water to the 
well. The specific capacity per square foot of strainer at the Smith 
plant No. 1 and the Hadlock plant is much smaller than the others. 
In the case of the Hadlock well there is no doubt but that this result 
is due to the fact that three of the Hadlock wells draw from surface 
water above a clay which overlies the sand and gravel from which the 
fourth well and the neighboring wells of Martinez and French draw 
their supply. In addition to this the strainers on these three wells of 
Hadlock consist of nothing but common pipe with drilled round 
holes. This poor form of strainer is sufficient in itself to cut down 
very materially the specific capacity of the wells. 

The low specific capacity at Smith's plant No. 1 is probably due 
chiefly to a local deposit of fine-sized water-bearing sand. There is 
no covering layer of clay over the water-bearing sands and gravels at 
the location of these wells. The sands contain so little coarse material 
that fine sand is constantly being drawn into the wells by the pumps. 
This draft on the sand deposit at the east of the three wells at Smith's 
plant No. 1 is such that several wagon loads of gravel have been 
hauled from time to time and placed in the pit of the east well to 
replace the sand removed by the pumps. 

The tests of the nine wells in the Rio Grande Valley near Las 
Cruces, N. Mex., form an interesting study. If we arrange them 
in order of their specific capacities per square foot of well strainer 
the list is as follows: 

Specific capacity, per square foot of strainer, of nine wells in Rio Grande Valley near Las 

Cruces, N. Mex. 



Name of well. 


Gals, permin. 


Name of well. 


Gals, per min. 


( Jarrera 3. 530 


Hager 


0.760 


Agricultural college 2. 320 ! 


Totten 


.760 


Boyer 1.969 


Roualt 


.627 


Hines 1 . 790 


Barker 


.337 


Burke 


.934 







ll x RATE OF MOVEMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS. [no.140. 

The first three wells are Located near the eastern edge of the river 
channel, and tin' high specific capacity of the wells is undoubtedly duo 
to coarse mountain debris which has l>ocn deposited along the eroded 
edge of the mesa. The high specific capacity at Hines's plant seems 
to be exceptional to the general lower average prevailing in the inter- 
mediate disl rict Lying between the border of the mesa and the riverehan- 
nel. as is represented by the plants of Uager. Totten, Burke, and Barker. 
The low specific capacity of the Barker well i- due in part to its small 
diameter, and it is to be classed, therefore, with the Burke. Totten. 
and blager wells rather than with the Roualt well. This last well is 
close to the river channel. Its low specific capacity is an indication of 
the progressive fineness of the deposits as we approach the river from 
the mesa. 

It should be considered that the specific capacities of the wells first 
named in above List are exceptionally high rather than that tin 1 others 
in the list are exceptionally low. Even the specific capacity of the 
Roualt well, of over one-third of a gallon a minute per square foot of 
well strainer, would be considered high in many parts of the country. 

The specific capacity of the three wells on the Horace ranch, near 
Berino. N. Mex., presents an interesting study. These plants are 
located but a few hundred feet apart and are identical in all respects 
except in the depth of the wells. The wells are i*^ inches in diameter, 
and each has 18 linear feet of well strainer at the bottom, formed by 
drilling 1-i-inch holes in the 9^-inch casing and wrapping the casing with 
No. 8 galvanized-iron wire, leaving one-eighth inch space between. The 
enormous difference in the specific capacities of these wells is entirely 
due to the fact that No. 1 is 75 feet deep. No. 2 is 53 feet deep, and 
No. 3 is 62 feet deep. The small expense necessary to sink well No. 2 
from a depth of 53 feet to a depth of 75 feet will change the cost of 
the water recovered from $10.90 per acre-foot to S2.21 per acre-foot. 

The group of pumping plants near Las Cruces are for the most part 
very recently constructed, and changes will undoubtedly be made in 
many of the plants, based upon the experience of the present irrigation 
season. The wells at the Agricultural College were the first ones con- 
structed in this part of the valley, and an excellent report of tests on 
these wells by Professors Vernon and Lester was issued in April, 1903. 
The very high specific capacity of the college wells has had its influ- 
ence upon the construction of the other plants. With a few exception-. 
we ma}' say that the pumping plants in the Mesilla Valley have engines 
and pumps entirely too large for the wells, or. as may be preferably 
stated, the wells are too small for the pumps and engines. By com- 
paring the high lifts recorded in column 9 of the table with the amount 
of lowering of the water in the wells, which is recorded in column 8, 
it will be seen that the lift of many of the plants can be considerably 
decreased by increasing the amount of strainer surface in the wells. 






slichter.] TESTS OF TYPICAL PUMPING PLANTS. 119 

la most cases this will mean the construction of additional wells, as 
the strainer surface can not be otherwise sufficiently increased. The 
necessity of keeping the lift of the pump down to a minimum is greatly- 
emphasized in irrigation plants, and large strainer surface is the first 
requisite. 

The efficiency of the smaller plants can also be increased b/y the con- 
struction of storage reservoirs or ponds for the accumulation of water 
before it is used for irrigation. In this way the dut} T of the water can 
be considerably increased. Barker's plant is the only one having such 
reservoirs. For plants that yield over a second-foot of water the res- 
ervoir is undoubtedly of little additional value. 

The determination of the speeds of the centrifugal pumps at the 
various plants showed that in many cases the speed had not been prop- 
erly adjusted. In all cases the speeds were too high. This was 
undoubtedly due to the fact that the vacuum had never been deter- 
mined, so that the total lift of the pump was unknown. 



INDEX. 



Page. 
Agawam Pond, Long Island, influence of, 

on underflow 72-75 

Agawam pumping station, Long Island, in- 
fluence of, on underflow 81-83 

Ammeter, recording, character of 26 

charts of, plate showing 26 

plate showing 26 

Artesian well, California, view of 102 

Artesian wells, specific capacity of 86, 89 

Berino, N. Mex., pumping plants at, figure 

showing Ill 

pumping plants at, test of 111-112, 118 

Brooklyn, N. Y., pumping stations of 65 

pumping stations of, ground water at. . 65-69 
ground water at, influence of pump- 
ing on 81-85 

influence of rainfall on 69-72 

influence of seepage on 72-80 

underflow at 66-67 

Buckets for charging wells, plate showing. 18 
California, southern, ground water condi- 
tions in 98 

wells in, yield of 103 

California stovepipe method of well con- 
struction. See Wells, construc- 
tion of. 
Casing, well, perforator for, figures showing. 100 

view of 98 

Commutator clock, description of 26 

plate showing 20 

Coupling, hydraulic, figure showing 17 

El Paso, Tex., pumping plants near, figure 

showing 105, 107 

pumping plants near, test of 104-109 

Electrical method of determining under- 
flow, accuracy of 49 

Electrode, plate showing 18 

Electrolytes, character of 20-21, 24-25 

Flow, relative, definition of 13 

Formalin, effect of 30 

Friction in wells, influence of 88 

Garden, Kans., test wells at, figure showing. 10 
underflow at, measurements of, ampere 

curves of, figure showing 27 

well and plant at, specific capacity of. . 91-94 
Gravel. See Sand and gravel. 
Horaco Ranch Co., pumping plant of, figure 

showing Ill 

pumping plant of, test of 111-112 

Inertia, absence of, in ground water 70-71 

Kansas. Finney Co., well and plant in, spe- 
cific capacity of 95-97 



Las Cruces, N. Mex., pumping plants at, 

figure showing 110 

pumping plants at, test of 109-111, 118-119 

Logan, D. H., well and plant of, specific 

capacity of 91-94 

Long Beach, Cal., artesian well at, view of. 102 

Long Island, N. Y., underflow on 65-85 

underflow on, influence of pumping on. 81-85 

influence of rainfall on 69-72 

influence of seepage on 72-81 

measurements of, ampere curves of, 

figures showing 24, 68, 70-81 

underflow stations on, maps showing . . 82-84 
Martinez, Felix, pumping plant of, figure 

showing 105 

pumping plant of, test of 104-106 

Meter, underflow, direct-reading type of. 

description of 19-25 

direct-reading type of, plate showing.. 20 

recording type of, description of 25-28 

types of, description of 16, 19-28 

use of, figure showing 20 

Mohave River, Cal., narrows of, cross sec- 
tion at 57 

narrows of, driving test wells at, view 

of 56,58 

map of 56 

underflow measurements at 55-63 

ampere curves of, figures show- 
ing 58-62 

underflow station at, plan of 57 

view of 56 

water of, quality of 63-64 

temperature of 64 

New Mexico, pumping plants in, figures 

showing 110, 111 

pumping plants in, tests of 109-119 

Pond seepage, influence of, on ground water 

on Long Island 72-81 

Proctor, J. B., well rig of 102 

Pumping plants, tests of 91-97, 104-119 

Rainfall, influence of, on underflow on Long 

Island 69-72 

Reservoir seepage, influence of, on ground 

water on Long Island 72-cXi 

Richter, Minnie, well and plant of, specific 

capacity of 95-97 

Riggle, E. W., well rig of 102 

Rio Grande, pumping plants on, costs at... 116 
pumping plants on, specific capacities 

of 113-119 

testa of 112-119 

121 



122 



INDEX. 



Pag* 

Rio Hondo, Cal., underflow measurements 

of 50-54 

underflow measurements of, ampere 

curves of 52 

record of _i 

Roualt, Theodore, pumping plant of, figure 

showing no 

pumping plant oi. tot of 109-111 

Sui ammoniac, use of 24 

San Gahriel River, Cal., underflow measure- 
ments of. 50-64 

underflow measurements of, ampere 

curves of, figure showing jj.">i 

record of 21 

Sand and gravel, flow through, speed of, 
accuracy of electrical method 

of determination of 49 

particles of, size of, influence of. 10-11,15,87-88 

transmission capacity of 10-15 

factors influencing 10, 87-8S 

laboratory experiments on 29-49 

transmission constants of 10-15 

diagram of 14 

table of 12,15 

Smith, J. A., pumping plant of, figure show- 
ing 107 

pumping plant of, test of 106-109 

Specific capacity of wells 86-97 

definition of 86-87 

estimation of 90 

factors influencing 87-8g 

Stovepipe method of well construction. 

Sec Wells, construction of. 
Tank, horizontal, experiments on flow 

in 29-41 

experiments on flow in, figures show- 
ing 33-40 

figure showing 31 

Tank, vertical, experiments on flow in 41-48 

experiments on flow in, figures show- 
ing 43-47 

figures showing 42,43 

Temperature, effect of, on flow through 

sand 13 



Page. 

Test wells, arrangement of 10-19 

arrangement of, figure showing 18 

charging of, apparatus foi, plate show- 
ing 18 

driving Of, apparatus for, plate show- 
ing 18,58 

Texas, pumping plants in, figures show- 
ing 105,107 

pumping plants in, test- of... 104-109,112-119 
Underflow, electrical method of determin- 
ing accuracy of 49 

velocity of, variation of, figure illustrat- 
ing 48 

Wantage Pond, Long Island, influence of, 

on underflow 75-80 

underflow station at. map showing S4 

Wantagh pumping station. Long Island, in- 
fluence of. on underflow 83-85 

Water-bearing stratum, influence of, on 

yield 88 

Well, artesian, view of 102 

Well rig, jetting, description of 17 

plate showing 26 

Well rigs, California, types of 102-103 

views of 100, 102 

Wells, casing of. See Casing— 

construction of, California, stovepipe 

method of 98-103 

advantages of 101 

cost of 101-102 

method of 98-100 

starter for, view of 98 

diameter of, importance of 

interference of 71-72 

specific capacity of. See Specific capac- 
ity of wells. 

water in, rate of rise of 91 

rate of rise of, curves of, figure show- 
ing 94 

measurement of, apparatus for, 

figure showing 90 

wiring of, methods of 19-20, 26 

Wells, test. S& Test wells. 

Wiring of wells, methods of 19-20, 26 



o 



PUBLICATIONS OF UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 

[Water-Supply Paper No. 140.] 

The serial publications of the United States Geological Survey consist of (1) Annual 
Reports, (2) Monographs, (3) Professional Papers, (4) Bulletins, (5) Mineral 
Resources, (6) Water-Supply and Irrigation Papers, (7) Topographic Atlas of 
United States — folios and separate sheets thereof, (8) Geologic Atlas of the United 
States — folios thereof. The classes numbered 2, 7, and 8 are sold at cost of publi- 
cation; the others are distributed free. A circular giving complete lists may be had 
on application. 

Most of the above publications may be obtained or consulted in the following ways: 

1. A limited number are delivered to the Director of the Survey, from whom they 
may be obtained, free of charge (except classes 2, 7, and 8), on application. 

2. A certain number are allotted to every member of Congress, from whom they 
may be obtained, free of charge, on application. 

3. Other copies are deposited with the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, 
D. C, from whom they may be had at prices slightly above cost. 

4. Copies of all Government publications are furnished to the principal public 
libraries in the large cities throughout the United States, where they may be con- 
sulted by those interested. 

The Professional Papers, Bulletins, and Water-Supply Papers treat of a variety of 
subjects, and the total number issued is large. They have therefore been classified into 
the following series: A, Economic geology; B, Descriptive geology; C, Systematic 
geology and paleontology; D, Petrography and mineralogy; E, Chemistry and phys- 
ics; F, Geography; G, Miscellaneous; H, Forestry; I, Irrigation; J, Water storage; 
K, Pumping water; L, Quality of water; M, General hydrographic investigations; 
N, Water power; O, Underground waters; P, Hydrographic progress reports. This 
paper is the forty-third in Series O, the complete list of which follows (PP=Profes- 
sional Paper; B=Bulletin; WS= Water-Supply Paper): . 

SERIES O, UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

WS 4. A reconnaissance in southeastern Washington, by I. C. Russell. 1897. 96 pp., 7 pis. 

WS 6. Underground waters of southwestern Kansas, by Erasmus Haworth. 1897. 65 pp., 12 pis. 

WS 7. Seepage waters of northern Utah, by Samuel Fortier. 1897. 50 pp., 3 pis. 

WS 12. Underground waters of southeastern Nebraska, by N. H. Darton. 1898. 56 pp., 21 pis. 

WS 21. Wells of northern Indiana, by Frank Leverett. 1899. 82 pp., 2 pis. 

WS 26. Wells of southern Indiana (continuation of No. 21), by Frank Leverett. 1899. 64 pp. 

WS 30. Water resources of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, by A. C. Lane. 1899. 97 pp., 7 pis. 

WS 31. Lower Michigan mineral waters, by A. C. Lane. 1899. 97 pp., 4 pis. 

WS 34. Geology and water resources of a portion of southeastern South Dakota, by J. E. Todd. 1900. 

34 pp., 19 pis. 
WS 53. Geology and water resources of Nez Perces County, Idaho, Pt. I, by I. C. Russell. 1901. 86 

pp., 10 pis. 
WS 54. Geology and water, resources of Nez Perces County, Idaho, Pt. II, by I. C. Russell. 1901. 

87-141 pp. 
WS 55. Geology and water resources of a portion of Yakima County, Wash., by G. O. Smith. 1901. 

68 pp., 7 pis. 
WS 57. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, Pt. I, by N. H. Darton. 1902. 60 pp. 
WS 59. Development and application of water in southern California, Pt. I, by J. B. Lippineott. 1902. 

95 pp., 11 pis. 
WS 60. Development and application of water in southern California. Pt. II. by J. B. Lippineott. 

1902. 96-140 pp. 
WS 61. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, Pt. II, by N. H. Darton. 1902. 67 pp. 
WS 67. The motions of underground waters, by C. S. Slichter. 1902. 106 pp., 8 pis. 

I 



II ADVERTISEMENT. 

B 199. Geology and water resources of the Snake River Plains of Idaho, by I. c. Russell. L902. 192 
pp., 25 pis. 

\\ - ::. Water resources of Molokai, Hawaiian Islands, by W. Lindgren. 190S. 62 pp., i pis. 

WS 7^. Preliminary report <>n artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and Boutheastern Oregon, by 

I.e. Russell. 1908. 53 pp.. 2 pis. 
PP 17. Preliminary report on the geology ami water resources of Nebraska \\ est of the one hundred 

and third meridian, by N. H. Darton. L908. 69 pp., 13 pis. 
\\ B 90. Geology and water resources of a i >art of the lower .lame.- Rivet Valley, South Dakota, hy .1. K. 

Todd and C. M. Hall. L904. 17 pp., 23pl8. 
WS 101. Dnderground waters of southern Louisiana, by G. I>. Harris, with discussions of their uses 

for water supplies and for rice irrigation, by M. L. Fuller. 1904. 98 pp., 11 pis. 
w 8 102. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United state-. 1903, by M. L. Fuller. 1904. 522 pp. 

,. Underground waters of Gila Valley, Arizona, by W. T. Lee. 1904. 71pp., 5 pis. 
WS no. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern DnitedStates, 1904; M. L. Fuller, geologist in charge. 

1904. 211 pp., 5 pis. 

PP 32. Geology and underground water resources of the central Great Plains, by X. H. Darton. 1901. 

138 pp.. 72 pis. 
WS 111. Preliminary report on underground waters of Washington, by Henry Landes. 1904. 85pp., 

1 pi. 
WS 112. Underflow tests in the drainage basin of Los Angeles River, hy Homer Hamlin. 1904. 55 

pp.. 7 pis. 
WS114. Underground waters of eastern Tinted States; M. L. Fuller, geologist in charge. 1904. 285 

pp.. 18 pis. 
WS 1 In. Geology and water resources of east-eentral Washington, hy F. C. Calkins. 1905. 96 pp., 

4 pis. 
B 262. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of central Oregon, by 1. C. Russell. 

1905. 138pp., 24 pis. 

WS 120. Bibliographic review and index of papers relating to underground waters published by the 
United States Geological Survey, 1879-1904. by M. L. Fuller. 1905. 128 pp. 

WS 122. Relation of the law to underground waters, by D. W. Johnson. 1905. 55 pp. 

WS 123. Geology and underground water conditions of the Jornada del Muerto. New Mexico, by C. R. 
Keyes. 1905. 42 pp., 9 pis. 

WS 136. Underground waters of the Salt River Valley, by W. T. Lee. 1905. 196 pp., 24 pis. 

B 264. Record of deep-well drilling for 1904, by M. L. Fuller. E. F. Lines, and A. C. Veatch. 1905. 
106 pp. 

PP 44. Underground water resources of Long Island, New York, by A. C. Veatch and others. 1905. 

WS 137. Development of underground waters in the eastern coastal plain region of southern Cali- 
fornia, hy W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 140 pp., 7 pis. 

WS 138. Development of underground waters in the central coastal plain region of southern Cali- 
fornia, by W. ('. Mendenhall. 1905. 162 pp., 5 pis. 

WS 139. Development of underground waters in the western coastal plain region of southern Cali- 
fornia, by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 105 pp., 7 pis. 

WS 140. Field measurements of the rate of movement of underground water, by C. S. Slichter. 1905. 
122 pp., 15 pis. 
The following papers also relate to this subject: Underground waters of Arkansas Valley in eastern 

Colorado, by G. K. Gilbert, in Seventeenth Annual. Pt. II; Preliminary report on artesian waters of a 

portion of the Dakotas, by N. H. Darton, in Seventeenth Annual, Pt. II; Water resources of Illinois. 

by Frank Leverett, in Seventeenth Annual. Pt. II: Water resources of Indiana and Ohio, by Frank 

Leverett, in Eighteenth Annual, Pt. IV; New developments in well boring and irrigation in eastern 

South Dakota, by N. H. Darton, in Eighteenth Annual, Pt. IV: Rock waters of Ohio, by Edward 

Orion, in Nineteenth Annual, Pt. IV: Artesian well prospects in the Atlantic coastal plain region, 

by N. II. Darton. Bulletin No. 138. 

Correspondence should be addressed to 

The Director, 

United States Geological Survey, 

Washington, 1). C. 
October, L905. 



LIBRARY CATALOGUE SLIPS. 

[Mount each slip upon a separate card, placing the subject at the top of the 
second slip. The name of the series should not be repeated on the series 
card, but the additional numbers should be added, as received, to the first 
entry.] 



Slichter, Charles S[umner] 1864- 

. . . Field measurements of the rate of movement of 
c underground waters, by Charles S. Slichter. Washing- 
I ton, Gov't print, off., 1905. 

122, iii p. illus., XV pi., diagrs. 23 om . (U. S. Geological survey. 
Water-supply and irrigation paper no. 140) 

Subject series: 0, Underground waters, 43. 

1. Water, Underground. 

Slichter, Charles S[umner] 1864- 

. . . Field measurements of the rate of movement of 
I underground waters, by Charles S. Slichter. Washing- 
5 ton, Gov't print, off., 1905. 

122, iii p. illus., XV pi., diagrs. 23 cm . (U. S. Geological survey. 
Water-supply and irrigation paper no. 140) 

Subject series: O, Underground waters, 43. 
1. Water, Underground. 

U. S. Geological survey. 

Water-supply and irrigation papers. 
| no. 140. Slichter, C. S. Field measurements of the 

X 

rate of movement of underground waters. 
1905. 

U.S. Dept. of the Interior. 

9 

W 

s see also 

« 

U. S. Geological survey. 

in 



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